After Your Treatment — What to Expect & What to Do

What to expectInsects (spiders, ants, cockroaches, fleas, wasps, earwigs, mites, scorpions etc):Unlike a standard spider treatment, with PestShield most clients report that all activity ended on the first day.Affected insects often act oddly — sluggish, out in the open, not bothered by you or by light. That's the treatment working.Unlike a standard spider treatment, you don't have to leave outdoor webs for a week. If you wish, remove webs with a broom.Rodents (rats & mice):It takes up to four weeks for activity to end, especially if they have plenty of food sources, and/or if they have been there for over a few weeks.If new activity starts up later and persists after four weeks, please let me know.What you can doInside: nothing. With no spray indoors there is no need for wiping benches, no mopping, nothing to keep kids or pets off. Your living space is untouched.If a spider was already happy indoors and never goes outside just broom it out. Rest assured that new pests coming in from outside get knocked down as they cross the barrier before they can settle in.Outside:For a longer active period don't pressure-wash or hose down treated areas.Don't water plants for 3 days if you can, and after that avoid over-watering.Avoid watering garden lines, perimeter of the house and fence lines in the long run.Avoid digging along garden and fence lines — it breaches the barrier.Switch outdoor lights to warm/yellow globes where you can, and turn them off at night. Fewer flying insects means less food for spiders and a home that's less attractive to them. Might I still see the odd pest inside?Rare but yes, around 1% of clients report still seeing them after 1 week as there's no indoor spray. Anything already living happily indoors might still show up now and then — just broom it out. New pests coming in can't get inside without being affected and get knocked down before they can settle - that's the trade-off for zero chemical inside your home, and its worth it.What about huntsman spiders or big American cockroaches?Huntsman and big American cockroaches are the occasional exception — around 2% of jobs. Because they're large and fast, they can cross the barrier and get inside before it takes full effect. They pick up the treatment residue on their legs as they cross the treated areas, and ingest when they groom themselves. Evidence shows that these insects groom less often than others, so it simply takes a little longer to catch up with them. We are looking into that for future versions.When should I call you?If a covered pest gets inside, watch how it's behaving. Twitching legs, out in the open, not bothered by you or by light — that means the treatment's working and they'll be gone shortly. If you're seeing 3 to 5 of them acting normal, that's a good moment to call me. With your six-month warranty there's no extra charge — I'll be there to reassess and apply the best approach. For rodents, call me if activity is still going after 4 weeks.So even PestShield isn't 100% guaranteed?The guarantee isn't that you'll never lay eyes on a single pest — it's that the treatment does its job. Right now around 2% of clients report a little activity after treatment. We're dealing with living creatures whose behaviour varies, and your surroundings play a big part too — if your neighbour has a rodent colony, keeping them out of your backyard is a much harder job than dealing with a colony on your property.What PestShield does reliably do is stop pests settling and nesting on your grounds — so unlikely, but you might see the odd one. And what I guarantee 100% is this: if a problem comes up, I'll be there to sort it out and put it right. Clients report that this is the best pest treatment they've ever had.One more thing before you go:Here's something I saw first-hand through the 2026 rodent surge in Adelaide - clients who kept up with PestShield or rodent treatments barely noticed it — while homes around them were dealing with it head-on. Rodents are cautious by nature — they're wary of new places and they avoid areas where things aren't going well for them. Your home becomes the place they route around, not into. So instead of fighting each new wave as it arrives, you're simply not on their map. Prevention beasts extermination — with our treatments you're not reacting to a surge, you're sitting it out.

What to expectFor the first few days, activity often increases before it drops — you may hear more noises in the roof or walls, or even hear them fighting over the bait. That's normal and a good sign — it means the bait's being taken.My bait works on a delay, and it takes up to four weeks at the most, especially if there's other reliable food sources around or the colony's been established a while. It's deliberately slow so they don't associate the bait with feeling unwell.Full control typically takes one to four weeks — older females are often the last to take the bait, so don't be surprised if one or two are still active near the end. What you can doInside: nothing to clean or avoid. There's no spray, no odours, no vapours or even smell in my rodent treatment — only bait stations — so your living space is untouched. No dry time, no wiping, nothing to keep off.Leave the bait stations exactly where I placed them. They're locked, and only a pest controller has the key — so there's nothing for you to open or handle. They're positioned deliberately along the routes rodents actually travel.Keep pets and children away from the stations. They're secured stations but a child or a pet banging them constantly is not desirable. Also their smell deters rats from coming close to the station. Leave them undisturbed. Usually pets don't show an interest on the stations, but a big dog might grind the station down within a few days. Don't block or seal the entry points yet. I need them as they are while the colony's being brought down. Sealing too early traps activity inside and works against the treatment.Outside — help it work:Cut off food and water: secure pet food and water bowl, clear fallen fruit and even from trees as much as you can, keep bins sealed, fix dripping taps, and tip out anything holding water. Rodents need food, water and shelter — take away the first two and your home stops being worth the trip. Also clean up after your dog as the droppings attract them as well. Declutter your surroundings, rodents love clutter as they feel secure in it.Trim back trees that touch your roof and walls as they act as a bridge for rodents.Bird bath is another issue as they can sense that water from far away, especially in dry weather.Rats generally leave lemons and limes alone, but every other fruit tree will attract them, so pick up the fruit that drops on the floor and try to proof up their access to the tree. Will rodent die in roof and wall voids? Is my house going to smell decay?Usually not. My bait makes rodents thirsty, so most head outside looking for water rather than dying in your walls — across my last 250 jobs, I've had around 8 dead animal removal requests. It's not 100%, but the odds are strongly in your favour.What happens with the entry points?Bait deals with the rodents already here. Stopping the next ones is about proofing — sealing the gaps they're using — and that's the harder, more important half of the job. Whether it's done on the day or as a follow-up depends on the property and what I find on inspection; some places are a quick seal-up, others need more work. I'll walk you through exactly what your place needs and when. When should I call you?If noises still go on after four weeks, please ring me. With your six-month warranty there's no extra charge — I'll come back and reassess. Sometimes baits are depleted, sometimes a different approach is required. If there is plenty of food sources and rats have been around for a long time it can take an extra 2 weeks.So even then, is it guaranteed they'll never come back?The colony I treat, I stand behind — that's what the warranty's for. What I can't control is what's happening beyond your walls. Rodents passing through from a neighbour's property, a colony next door, or new ones moving into the wider area aren't something any treatment can guarantee against, because I can't access or treat land that isn't yours. What I do guarantee is that if activity comes back inside your warranty, I'll be there to sort it. A big part of my services is about proofing up, for long-lasting results, the problem is that it is expensive and sometimes tricky.Is there any smell or fumes from the bait?None. The baits I use are solid wax blocks — they don't evaporate, give off vapour, or put any smell into your home. There's nothing in the air for you, your kids or your pets to breathe. The stations themselves are locked and can only be opened with a pest controller's key, so the bait stays sealed away where it belongs — which is exactly why it's safe to have in a family home. I also reinforce that by usually placing them behind air-conditioning units, plants and in inaccessible spots.

What to expectAfter the first treatment you'll see a big drop in numbers — especially if you had the steam flush and vacuum add-on. The first visit targets the adults and nymphs you've got now.The ones you do see may be acting oddly — sluggish, out in the open. That's normal, and it's actually part of how the treatment works: leave them be if you can, because they carry the active ingredient back to their harbourage areas and pass it on to others.Some clients tell me they've seen no cockroaches at all after the first visit — that's my goal. But hidden egg sacs hatch within about a week, which is exactly why I come back for a second visit to catch the new ones before they mature. The second visit isn't optional — it's what actually finishes the job.What you can doInside: Once the two hours are up and everything's dry, you're welcome back in. Please wipe down all benches and food-preparation surfaces. I don't recommend it, but you can put your cabinet contents back too — if you do, please wipe down the shelves first. That said, for the best result, leave the cabinets empty. I'll need to treat them again about a week later, and they have to be empty for that. Leaving them cleared now saves you doing it all twice — and it delivers a better result.After the second visit, you may still see the odd one for about a week — this time, feel free to get rid of them on sight. If you're still seeing them after a week, please let me know, even if it's just one tiny one. Don't sit on it — the sooner you tell me, the sooner I'm back to sort it under your warranty, at no extra charge.If the job calls for it, I might leave some sticky traps down. If I do, go easy around them — if they get pressed flat or trodden on, they stop working.

What to expectDepends on two things: how many ants were active when I treated, and whether I could find the nest entries on your property.If there were hundreds or thousands of ants when I treated — or if I found the colony's main entries — you should see a massive drop in numbers by the next day. Full control can take 2–7 days.If there were only a few dozen, or I couldn't locate the nest entries, then baiting is the only option — and that usually takes 1–4 weeks.What you can doIf they are still present, keep placing the bait station wherever you see them trailing. Ants shift their trails from day to day, so have a look once a day and move the station to where they're trailing now.Once they've gone, protect the station from the weather. Some clients report the bait keeps working for up to six months.Important: don't spray or disturb them after the treatment. They're the ones doing the hard work — carrying the bait back to the nest and feeding it to the queen.How does the treatment work?Ants have what's called a social stomach — they share food with each other mouth to mouth, almost like they're kissing. That's what makes the treatment work: the bait gets passed hand to hand through the colony until it reaches the queen. Once she's gone, the whole structure collapses — they can't survive without her. Some species make it harder by running multiple nests and several queens across one mega-colony, which is why a stubborn job sometimes needs more baiting to reach them all.There's another reason ants can feel relentless: sheer numbers. It's estimated there are around 2.5 million ants alive for every single person on earth, and a queen can lay thousands of eggs a day. So if the areas around you are infested, they'll keep pushing back in — it's not that the treatment failed, it's that you're up against a supply line.Ants are one of the pests I'm most confident dealing with. Get in touch, and let's get you some peace of mind.

What to expectAfter the first visit you'll often see an immediate drop in numbers — especially if you had the vacuum add-on. Some clients report they're all gone, or close to a 90% drop.I'll be back about a week later for the second treatment. This one matters: flea eggs and pupae survive the first spray and hatch over the following days, so the second visit catches the new fleas before they breed again, breaking the cycle. What you can doYour pets must be treated by a vet — this is the part that makes or breaks it. I treat the house; your vet treats the animal. If the pet isn't treated, fleas simply climb back on and the cycle starts over, no matter how good the house treatment was. The two have to happen together.With my treatment you don't have to keep vacuuming daily — my product keeps working between and after visits, so you're not doing the hard yards other treatments demand. But if you do vacuum, it only helps: you can go over the floors, carpets, skirting, under furniture and especially where pets sleep, and empty the vacuum into an outside bin each time. The vibration and warmth actually help trigger young fleas out of their pupae so the treatment can reach them.