Adults live harmlessly out doors during summer but may enter buildings (usually roof spaces and lofts but also through windows into rooms) in autumn to hibernate, sometimes in vast numbers. Other unrelated species may also cluster.
Egg - larva - pupa - adult. Eggs - laid in damp soil, rotting vegetation. Larvae - soon after emergence seek out and parasitise earthworms which are eventually killed. Development several weeks. Pupae - in soil. Adults - 6mm long, blackish, with fine golden hairs on thorax (sometimes rubbed off). Often two generations per year.
May be severe nuisance if large numbers of adults enter inhabited parts of buildings.Some buildings infested each autumn year after year.
Can be controlled inside buildings using a low level insecticide. (Treatment can only be applied within loft space so long as bats are not present)
NORWAY BROWN RAT Rat of the developed urban environment, largely in developed towns and cities. Generally a burrowing species but can be found in buildings and...
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HOUSE MOUSECommon in a wide range of urban and rural buildings all over UK. Mainly a house dweller, it lives very little out of doors where it does not compete well with...
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BED BUGNocturnal parasite, all stages feeding on mammalian blood, principally human but also dog, cat or rodents. Hide by day in crevices in beds...
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FLEAParasitic as adults, adapted to living among the fur of the host and feeding on its blood. Soft furnishing. Larvae live on floor in bedding of host...
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COMMON WASPTemperate species forming nests in soil banks, roof spaces, wall cavities and trees. Nests formed of paper (chewed wood) and may become very large....
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EUROPEAN HORNETTemperate species forming nests in wooded areas, wall cavities and trees. Nests formed of paper (chewed wood) and become very large. Colonies only....
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BLACK ANTTemperate species living in soil or in association with dwellings. Form nests in gardens, under paving stones, in foundations or occasionally within...
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PHARAOH'S ANTTropical species found only in heated buildings in the UK. Small, mobile and active at all times of the day. Form large, apparently unstructured, nests in....
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GERMAN COCKROACHPrimarily nocturnal, a pest of warm, humid conditions. Found in the UK only in heated buildings, not normally outside or in underground...
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ORIENTAL COCKROACHPrimarily nocturnal, a pest of warm environments but tolerant of colder conditions. Nymphs and adults cluster in groups in harbourages...
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AMERICAN COCKROACHPrimarily nocturnal, a pest of warm, humid conditions. Found in the UK only in heated buildings, not normally outside or in underground heating...
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CLUSTER FLYAdults live harmlessly out doors during summer but may enter buildings (usually roof spaces and lofts but also through windows into rooms) in autumn....
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