Insect Control in Fife & Edinburgh

The right treatment starts with the right identification

Different insects need very different treatments. We identify exactly what you’re dealing with, find the source and treat it properly – so you’re not paying for the wrong product or repeat visits.

Insects we treat

• Ants – including garden ants coming indoors
• Fleas – often after pets, or when moving into a property where pets were kept
• Cockroaches – a serious hygiene risk, especially in food businesses and shared buildings
• Flies – cluster flies in lofts and fly problems in commercial kitchens
• Clothes moths and carpet beetles – damage to carpets, clothes and soft furnishings
• Stored product insects – beetles and moths in food stores and warehouses

Stored product insects (SPIs)

Stored product insects are small beetles, moths and mites that live in dried food – flour, cereals, rice, pasta, spices, dried herbs, nuts, dried fruit, pet food and bird seed. They’re one of the most common insect problems in Scottish kitchens and larders, and a real risk for food businesses, warehouses and farm stores.

Insect images: Killgerm Group Limited.

Common stored product insects in the UK

• Biscuit beetle (drugstore beetle) – a small reddish-brown beetle, about 2–3mm long, found in flour, biscuits, spices, dried herbs and pet food. One of the most common SPIs in UK homes.
• Spider beetles – round, long-legged beetles that look like tiny spiders, including the Australian and golden spider beetles. They often come from lofts, floor voids and old bird nests and wander into cupboards.
• Saw-toothed grain beetle – a slim brown beetle in cereals, oats, dried fruit and nuts.
• Flour beetles – reddish-brown beetles, such as the confused flour beetle, in flour and processed cereal foods.
• Indian meal moth and Mediterranean flour moth – small moths whose caterpillars spin silky webbing through food.
• Grain weevils – in stored grain, rice and pasta, especially in farm and food stores.
• Flour mites – almost too small to see; flour or cereal that smells musty and looks like it’s moving. They thrive in damp conditions, so controlling humidity is key.

Signs of stored product insects

• Small beetles on worktops, shelves, windowsills or inside packets
• Tiny holes in packaging
• Silky webbing or clumps in flour, cereals or seed
• Larvae in food, or small moths flying around the kitchen
• A musty smell from flour or dried goods

How we deal with stored product insects

• Identify the insect – the right treatment depends on the species
• Find the source – often a single forgotten packet, a bag of pet food or bird seed, or, for spider beetles, a loft or floor void
• Clear-out advice – what to throw away and how to clean cupboards properly
• Targeted treatment of cupboards, shelving, voids and stores where it’s needed
• Monitoring and follow-up, especially for food businesses
• Cool, dry storage – flour mites, booklice and mould-feeding beetles need damp conditions and struggle when humidity is kept below about 65%. We’ll advise on ventilation, damp and keeping larders, stores and food premises cool and dry
• Prevention – sealed containers, stock rotation and regular checks

For food businesses, warehouses and farms, stored product insects can mean spoiled stock, complaints and failed audits. Our commercial pest control contracts include regular monitoring and written reports.

Insect control in Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, cockroaches and moths are most common in older tenements, shared buildings and busy commercial kitchens, while fleas often turn up when tenants move into rented flats. See pest control in Edinburgh.

Insect control in Fife

In Fife, we regularly deal with cluster flies in the lofts of rural and coastal homes, ants in summer, and stored product insects in farm stores and warehouses. See pest control in Fife.

How it works

• Inspection and identification
• Targeted treatment with professional products
• Advice on hygiene, proofing and preventing a return
• Follow-up visits where the insect’s life cycle requires them