Rodent Control for Homes & Businesses

Rats and mice can quickly cause costly damage to your home or business. That’s why PPS provides professional rodent control and ongoing rodent management for residential, commercial and rural properties across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island.

Why Rodents Are a Problem

• Property damage: Rodents can damage your property, which can also lead to a risk of fire or flood – or just a very expensive repair bill!
• Fast-growing populations: A rat population can swell from only two rats to over 1,000 in as little as a year. A female rat can have around 6 litters each year of around 5–10 pups, which reach maturity at just nine weeks old.
• Constant chewing: A rat’s teeth grow at a rate of up to 1mm daily, or on average around 13cm a year. Because rodents need to keep their teeth at a consistent length, they chew on your property – usually hard things such as your water pipes!
• Quick learners: Rats are intelligent and can take some time to approach new objects, as they have a fear of new things (neophobia). As a result, they can become trap shy fairly easily if trapping isn’t done correctly.

Types of Rodents in New Zealand

• Norway Rat
• Ship Rat
• Polynesian Rat (Kiore)
• House Mouse

Our Rodent Control Options

We offer rodent management options to suit all requirements, both residential and commercial, including one-off plans or ongoing monthly management. For safety reasons, and as best practice, we complete our rodent management plan visits monthly. For long-term rodent control, we generally recommend ongoing rodent management.

• Low bird-toxicity baits: Ask us about our New Generation non-anticoagulant baits with low avian (bird) toxicity.
• Internal management and monitoring: We also offer internal options, including non-toxic options.
• Exterior management: Including full perimeter management. Our perimeter control options provide greater protection to your property and the buildings within. On larger sites, if the perimeter is wide enough, this can help keep your property and buildings virtually rodent-free, as we eliminate rodents at the perimeter line.

Proactive Rodent Management

You can be reactive – or you can get Proactive!

Who Benefits from Proactive Rodent Management?

• Commercial properties: Many commercial operators should have a proactive IPM (Integrated Pest Management) plan in place to ensure they meet appropriate hygiene and health and safety standards. For example, this includes food and dairy processing, butcheries, healthcare, hospitality, education and storage facilities.
• Protecting birdlife: In addition, commercial clients may want to do their part for birdlife in their area, such as tourism operators that showcase the beauty of NZ.
• Residential, rural & lakeside properties: Many clients do proactive rodent management on their property purely to encourage and protect native species, such as birds.

Keep your property protected and do your part for birds – it starts in your backyard! Get in touch with PPS today to discuss rodent control for your property.

Spider Spray for White Tail & Web Prevention

Protect your home or business with a professional spider spray from PPS. Keep your home or business web-free and guarded against invading spiders and white tail spiders today.

Benefits of Spider Treatment and Prevention

• Maintains Property Cleanliness: Keeps your home or business building clean and presentable.

• Prevents Surface Damage: Protects exterior paint and aluminum window frames from damage caused by acidic spider droppings.

• Reduces White Tail Spiders: Eliminates the main food source for White Tails, reducing their presence around your property.

White Tail Spiders in NZ:

• Species: New Zealand has two introduced species of White Tail spiders.

• Appearance: Dark red or grey bodies with dark orange-banded legs and a distinct whitish tip on the tail.

• Behaviour: Active at night, hunting other spiders for food, delivering a nasty bite and laying up to 90 eggs at a time.

Spiders and White Tails in NZ: What You Need to Know
Spiders play a crucial role in the ecosystem, with New Zealand estimated to have over 2,000 species – including more than 150 jumping spider species alone. While most spiders are beneficial, they become pests when invading homes and leaving unsightly, damaging webs.

How We Get Rid of Spiders Safely

Exterior Treatment (Spiders & Crawling Insects)

• Targeted Application: We apply an invisible, non-staining treatment to buildings, sheds, outdoor furniture, and letterboxes – wherever spiders and crawling pests like cockroaches prefer to hide.

• Minimal Environmental Impact: A direct spray method minimises overspray, protecting non-target species and the surrounding environment.

• High-Reach Capability: Our exclusive high-reach system allows us to treat buildings up to 3 storeys high.

Interior Treatment (Optional)

• Light Mist Flush: Acts as a light flush to target any pests lurking indoors when the exterior treatment is applied.

• Targeted Entry Points: Focuses primarily on key entry points and hidden spaces behind furniture rather than applying a heavy residual treatment.

• Reduced Chemical Exposure: We only recommend this optional treatment if necessary, minimising pesticide exposure inside your home or business.

How long does a Spider Spray Last?

We guarantee our exterior spider treatment for 3 months. In most cases, clients see 6 to 8 months of effective protection, with results lasting as long as 1 full year.

Cockroach Pest Control & Prevention

Stop cockroaches before they get inside. PPS provides professional cockroach pest control treatments for homes and businesses across Rotorua, Taupō, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui and surrounding areas. They keep your property protected all year round.

Benefits of Cockroach Treatment

• Keeps them outside: A barrier treatment around your building stops cockroaches moving indoors when it gets too wet or too hot outside.
• Protects your health: Introduced species such as German and American cockroaches carry pathogens, so early pest control treatments reduces the risk to your home and/or business.
• Long-lasting results: Our exterior treatment is guaranteed for 3 months, and most clients see 6-8 months of protection.

Common Cockroaches in New Zealand

• Gisborne Cockroach: A major pest in the Bay of Plenty. It lives outdoors under bark, woodchips and garden mulch, and moves inside in wet or hot weather. You can tell it apart from native cockroaches by its larger body and distinctive white bands. It isn’t known to carry disease, but it’s an unwelcome nuisance indoors.
• Native Bush Cockroaches: New Zealand has around 15 native species. They’re harmless, and they only become a pest when they get into homes.
• German & American Cockroaches: These introduced species carry pathogens and pose a real health risk, especially in kitchens and food businesses. If you spot them, call us promptly.

How We Get Rid of Cockroaches Safely

Exterior Treatment

• Targeted application: We apply an invisible, non-staining treatment to your home, sheds, woodsheds and even your letterbox, wherever cockroaches like to hide.
• Minimal environmental impact: Our direct spray method reduces overspray and protects non-target species and the surrounding environment.
• High-reach capability: Our exclusive high-reach system treats buildings up to 3 storeys high.

Interior Treatment (optional)

• Light mist flush: This deals with any cockroaches already inside, targeting entry points and the areas behind furniture.
• It is NOT a heavy residual treatment: We only recommend interior treatment when it’s needed, to keep pesticide use inside your home or business to a minimum.

How Long Does Cockroach Pest Control Last?

Our exterior cockroach treatment is guaranteed for 3 months. Most properties get 6–8 months of effective protection, and some see results last up to a year, depending on conditions. Some clients book an annual treatment, while others prefer every 6 months to stay on top of cockroaches all year round.

Seeing cockroaches around your property? Get in touch with PPS today for a free quote.

Ant Control & Prevention

Ants are incredibly resilient, invasive pests. Left unchecked, ant infestations in buildings pose potential health risks and can cause severe property damage, such as fire hazards from nesting inside electronics. PPS provides professional ant control for homes and businesses across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island.

Because different ant species behave differently, we identify the specific ant species before treatment, so we can tailor a plan to your home or business. New Zealand is home to around 40 ant species, but only a handful reach pest status – and almost all of those are introduced.

Common Pest Ants in New Zealand

• White-footed house ant: The most common introduced ant in New Zealand. It often nests in walls and forages inside for water and food, particularly sweet items. Colonies have several thousand workers and many queens, so numbers can build rapidly.
• Argentine ant: A light brown ant around 2–3mm long, and one of the world’s 100 most invasive species. It forms super-colonies with many queens, forages indoors and swarms over pot plants. Argentine ants bite, but they can’t sting.
• Darwin’s ant: An introduced pest species found throughout the North Island, as well as in Nelson, Marlborough and Christchurch.
• Black house ant: A common nuisance ant that regularly finds its way into homes.

Signs You Have an Ant Problem

• Ant trails: Lines of ants travelling along skirting boards, benchtops or exterior walls. Scout ants leave a scent trail to food, and other ants follow it.
• Ants in the kitchen or pantry: Ants come inside looking for food and water, especially sweet foods.
• Ants on pot plants and gardens: Some ants protect plant pests such as mealybugs and scale insects so they can feed on the honeydew they produce.

Tailored Ant Control Options

Exterior Spray Treatment (General Crawling Insects)

• Invisible barrier: Provides a protective barrier on the building exterior to stop invading ants, as well as spiders and cockroaches.
• Combined approach: For moderate to severe ant infestations, or where ants are already nesting inside wall or roof cavities, we recommend combining this spray with a dedicated ant treatment.

Dedicated Ant Treatment

• Professional baiting & spot spraying: We use professional-grade ant baits and specialised ant treatment products targeted at the specific species.
• Why baiting works: Foraging ants carry the bait back to the nest and share it with the rest of the colony, including the queens. As a result, baits can control a nest even when the nest itself can’t be found.
• Proactive ant management: You may need multiple applications for the best results. For ongoing problems, we offer monthly Proactive Ant Treatments to keep ants outside year-round.

German Cockroaches are most commonly associated with kitchen environments especially commercial kitchens but also found in geothermal areas, apartments/flats and residential homes.

They are known to carry more than 40 pathogens including those that are potentially dangerous to humans and are also linked to allergic reactions and asthma. (list below)

In almost all cases, they must be introduced into a building or come from an adjoining building. They are master hitchhikers so can make their way into the home on something as simple as takeaway packaging or secondhand appliances.

German cockroaches are small and light brown.
They breed quickly with up to 40 young in each egg sac, they producing a new generation around every 60 days and young can breed as early as 45-60 days enabling them to go from one female cockroach to over a million in only a year.

Often seen at night in the kitchen but will scatter when the light is turned on.
They prefer warm areas like hot water cylinders and appliances such as fridges and modems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the German cockroach is a known vector for diseases, people may become infected with any of these by eating or drinking a contaminated food or beverage, including:

 – Salmonellosis – Salmonella food poisoning causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. Symptoms are generally mild, but can be severe, especially for those with a compromised immune system.

Staphylococcus infections – This gastrointestinal illness develops soon after food is eaten and usually last about a day. The toxins are heat resistant so are not destroyed by cooking.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria normally lives in the intestines of people and animals and some types can cause illness with diarrhea.

Typhoid fever – This life-threatening illness is caused by Salmonella Typhi. When a contaminated food is consumed, the bacteria multiply and spread into the bloodstream.

Gastroenteritis – inflammation of the stomach and small and large intestines, generally leading to vomiting or diarrhea.

How we get rid of them safely & without pesticide sprays!

We believe in avoiding pesticide sprays in kitchens and eating areas whenever possible, this is why we provide SPRAY FREE treatments for German Cockroaches, which are less invasive to the client
No need to empty cupboards prior to treatment.
No need to leave the home for several hours following the treatment.

Residential or Commercial (not kitchens/eateries)
Guaranteed in most residential situations if all recommendations are followed.
We have a 100% success rate with residential treatments.
This is also applicable to commercial clients such as office buildings, staffrooms or other non-commercial kitchen businesses.

Eateries/Commercial Kitchens
 – including restaurants, cafes, takeaways or other sites that serve or process food
IT IS NOT NORMAL TO HAVE COCKROACHES IN COMMERCIAL KITCHENS
(We are experiencing more and more businesses that have been operating with ongoing infestations and are under the impression that they can not be eliminated or that they are normal and unavoidable – This is not the case!)
If all recommendations are followed a guarantee can be provided to ‘standalone’ kitchens/buildings or those that do not have any other food businesses that share a wall or alleyway.
Introduction of infestation is often from suppliers, staff or neighbouring businesses, this must also be addressed to prevent re-infestation.

Proactive Pest Solutions recommend that ALL businesses that prepare and serve food onsite have regular and ongoing pest management that also includes management/monitoring of insects, rodents and other stored product/food pests.
Ideally this should be completed monthly by a professional and experienced technician and not kitchen staff that are also handling food.
This is not currently enforced by local councils, currently local councils do not require or enforce eateries to have monthly pest management in place.
Many operate with no pest management and ongoing pest issues.

Flea Control for Homes & Businesses

Fleas are very common in New Zealand, particularly cat fleas. They generally come from outside and can affect all types of flooring, including wooden floors. You also don’t need to have pets to get fleas inside your home or business. PPS provides professional flea control for homes and businesses across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island.

Why Fleas Appear After You’ve Been Away

It’s common to come home to fleas after locking the house up and going away, such as over Christmas, due to the steady temperatures inside. Adult fleas wait in their cocoons until vibration, heat and movement trigger them to emerge – so they often appear soon after you walk back in the door.

The Flea Life Cycle

• Four stages: Fleas develop from egg, to larva, to pupa (cocoon), to adult.
• Fast or slow: Depending on conditions, the full life cycle can take anywhere from two weeks to eight months.
• Triggered to hatch: Adult fleas emerge when they detect vibration, heat, pressure or carbon dioxide from people and pets nearby.
• Small but tough: Adult fleas are usually around 3mm long, with flat, shiny, tough bodies that let them move through hair without being dislodged.

How We Get Rid of Fleas Safely

Interior Treatment

• Floor treatment: We treat the floor area of the affected home or business.
• Prep and aftercare: You’ll need to do some minor prep and aftercare, and we’ll provide a list before your treatment.
• Vacate for 6 hours: Everyone, including pets, must leave the property for 6 hours following treatment.
• Allow two weeks: Remaining eggs need around two weeks to hatch and be affected by the treatment, so you may see fleas right up until this point.

Exterior Treatment

• Targeted outdoor areas: We treat flea-prone areas outside, as recommended by your technician.

Our Flea Control Guarantee

Our treatment is effective for several weeks to stop the breeding cycle – and it’s guaranteed! As long as you follow all our recommendations, we guarantee our treatment. Let us know if you’re still seeing any fleas after 3 weeks.

Wasp Control & Nest Removal

New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world. Introduced wasps harm our native birds and insects, and their stings can cause allergic reactions in some people. PPS provides professional wasp control and wasp nest removal for homes and businesses across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island.

Our Wasp Control Options

• Wasp nest destruction
• Queen wasp baiting (spring/summer)
• Worker wasp baiting as a distraction (summer/autumn)
• Wasp nest baiting (end of season, March/April)

Types of Wasps in New Zealand

• German wasp: Builds a grey/silver nest. German wasps first arrived in New Zealand in the 1940s.
• Common wasp: Builds a tan/brown nest. Common wasps arrived in the late 1970s and are now widespread.
• Paper wasp: Builds small nests, about the size of a pear, that often hang from fences and roof peaks.

Wasps are also known as yellowjackets, hornets, Vespula wasps – and, to some, spicy sky raisins!

Common Wasp Nest Locations

Wasps commonly nest in the ground, in pungas, under roof eaves, in stumps or in hedges. German and common wasp nests are usually about the size of a soccer ball, but they can grow much bigger if they survive the winter.

Sometimes Wasps Are Actually Bees!

In this instance, we do our best to catch and rehome the bees with a local beekeeper.

How We Treat a Wasp Nest

• Locating the nest: First, we need to know where the nest is, so we can treat it directly.
• Best time to treat: If possible, we treat wasps later in the day, as they’re returning from foraging.
• After treatment: After we treat it, the nest can become agitated, so it’s best to avoid the area for the rest of the day.
• Guaranteed results: If activity persists after a couple of days, let us know – our treatment is guaranteed, and we’ll return to re-treat free of charge.

Can’t Find the Nest?

If wasps are just foraging on a food source such as a tree or bush, this may not be a nest – but there may be one nearby. You can try to follow foraging wasps back to find the nest. This works best later in the afternoon, as they’re all heading back to the nest for the night.

Silverfish are gray or silver in color.
They are nocturnal and prefer warm, dark, damp areas.

They feed on carbohydrates and can be damaging to books and wallpapers.
They can be a major pest in document storage rooms.

Monitoring & Treatment options are available and are tailored to your requirements.

Get in touch with the team to find out how we can help today.