Pest control in Hamilton

What you're most likely to be dealing with

Rats and mice are the cold-weather job, and scratching above the ceiling at night usually points to rats. Bait and traps around a family home need thought, too: Hamilton City Council says urban predator control needs special care because of the hazards for pets and young children.

Wasps take over through summer. Waikato Regional Council says they mostly hunt for food near the nest, so a steady stream of them at your barbecue usually means a nest within a short flight. Its advice is that dealing with every nest within 200 m of a problem area should make a real difference, and that radius often takes in the neighbours.

Then there's what comes up out of the gully. Hamilton City Council lists possums, rats, mice, hedgehogs, stoats and weasels as predators of native invertebrates, and points residents to Predator Free Hamilton for tutorials and tips. If it's thumping across the roof at night, start with our possum page.

Damp floors and borer

Borer likes damp. Consumer NZ said in 2015 that it prefers moist untreated timber and is often found in floor timbers, so a wet subfloor (the space under a raised floor) deserves a look. Small round holes with fine dust beneath are the giveaway. Buying an older Hamilton house? Settled.govt.nz says to make sure the building inspection covers borer, because some inspectors exclude it.