What this tool is for

Knowing you have mice in the loft or ants in the kitchen is only half the battle. This tool gives you a practical plan for actually getting rid of them, based on the pest and the part of your home or garden where they have turned up.

You tell it what you are dealing with and where, and it puts together a treatment guide covering what to try first, what to buy if home methods do not work, and what to avoid.

When to use it

It is aimed at people who have already identified the pest and want to deal with it themselves before calling in a professional. That covers most common UK problems, including rats, mice, ants, wasps, moths, silverfish, slugs, aphids, fleas and bedbugs, whether they are in the kitchen, bedroom, loft, shed, lawn or vegetable patch.

It is less useful if you are not sure what the pest is, or if you are facing a large infestation that clearly needs pest control. In those cases a quick inspection or a phone call will serve you better than a home treatment plan.

How it works

Answer a couple of short questions about the pest and the location, and you will get a plain English guide you can read straight away or save for later. It covers home remedies worth trying, shop-bought products that tend to work well in UK conditions, safety notes for households with children or pets, and a rough idea of how long it should take before you see results. Nothing you enter is stored, and the tool is free to use as often as you need.