What Does a Pest Controller Check During an Inspection in Great Shelford?

When a pest controller inspects a house, the aim is to answer four questions: what is it, how much of the property is involved, where does it live and how does it get in. On a larger Great Shelford family home, answering them means covering more ground, so the visit is organised in zones.

Why Zones Work in Great Shelford

Large houses make it easy to inspect the obvious room and miss the rest. A family home near the station might have a utility room, a double garage, a boiler cupboard, an attic bedroom and a long garden. If a technician only checks the kitchen where droppings were found, the nest in the attic eaves stays unnoticed. Working zone by zone avoids that, and it gives you a clear record of where nothing was found as well as where something was.

For owners who work away from home, this is also reassuring.

Zone One: The Roof and Loft

Bigger houses often have large, divided roof spaces, sometimes converted or partly boarded. We check the insulation for tracks and nesting, the wiring and tanks for gnawing, and the eaves and gables for gaps. Noises overhead at night are the most common reason people book, and the loft is where those questions are usually answered.

Zone Two: The Kitchen, Utility and Pantry Areas

• Behind and under integrated appliances
• Around pipe and waste entries
• Food storage, including pet food and bird seed
• Waste and recycling arrangements

Zone Three: Garage and Outbuildings

Garages attached to the house are a classic bridge between the garden and the living space. Stored boxes, spare freezers, garden furniture and sacks of feed give shelter. Doors that do not close fully at the base are among the commonest entry points we record.

Zone Four: The Garden and Boundary

With larger plots and, in places, a river nearby, there is more vegetation and more sources of food and water. We note compost heaps, ponds, bird feeders, log stores, overgrown ivy against the walls and any gaps in fencing or at the base of walls.

After the Walk-Round

The written report sets out the species, the extent, the harbourage, the access points and the contributing factors, with photographs where useful. It then lists what treatment and proofing would be worth doing, in what order, and which of those you could reasonably handle yourself.

What it will not do is guarantee that a Great Shelford house stays free of pests once it is sealed, and it cannot see inside walls and floors that are closed up. The report is clear on what we did and did not reach.

More on how it works is in our inspection cost guide and on the Great Shelford inspection page, and the Cambridge inspection service sets out the wider offering.

Ring 01223 902388 or send a WhatsApp message to arrange a visit.