London pest control at Christmas: the hidden pests of the festive season
London Pest Control | Christmas Pest Control | Winter Pest Control
December in London is pure festive magic. We’re all busy planning, buying, cooking, wrapping presents, hanging decorations, and bringing the outside in, literally, with Christmas trees, wreaths and other natural decorations.
We travel all over to Covent Garden to see the lights, and over to Southwark or Greenwich, where the Christmas markets are in full swing.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, not just for us humans, but for common London pests too. Many common London pests see the festive season as their biggest opportunity of the year.
Why? Because your home is now warmer, full of food, and packed with new materials (packaging, decorations, and even the tree itself) that offer new opportunities for shelter and survival.
At Mercury Pest Control, we’re often called out in January to deal with the issues that started in December. Here is your guide to London pest control at Christmas. Giving you all the information you need to prevent the festive pests, what to watch out for, and how to keep your home healthy and happy until the New Year.
London pest control at Christmas: the culprits and the chaos
As we get busier and bring more items into the house, we often create unexpected entry points and ideal habitats for pests.
Christmas trees
Common types of real Christmas trees are firs (like Fraser, Balsam, and Nordmann), spruces (such as Norway and Blue Spruce), and pines (including Scotch Pine and Eastern White Pine) are all natural products, and that means it might be carrying small, dormant, or hibernating critters into your warm living room.
Hiding in the pines:
- Spiders and mites: Out in the cold they may be dormant, but once the tree is in your heated living room, the warmth can wake them up.
- Tiny insects: Eggs can be hidden deep within the branches. Again, the sudden warmth can cause these to hatch.
- Mice: On very rare occasions, if the trees have been stacked near sheds or outhouses, a young mouse might be hiding out in the base.
Don’t bring your tree straight indoors. Instead, give it a good, vigorous shake outside. If possible, leave it in a cold, secure garage or porch for a few hours before bringing it into the main living space.
Rodents
Between the mince pies, the tins of biscuits, the quality street, and the constant stream of leftovers, Christmas is essentially a 24/7 open buffet for mice and rats.
What they’re after:
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Market stall at Borough Market, covered urban market in Southwark, east London. The food focus: We see increased rodent activity in kitchens across all London boroughs, from Barnet to Hounslow, simply because there’s more food and often more rubbish. Bins are fuller, leftovers are sitting out, and that giant tin of shortbread is probably just cardboard, which they can chew through instantly.
- The clutter: Christmas storage boxes, piles of presents waiting to be wrapped, and decorations stacked in the attic provide perfect new nesting spots. A mouse will happily move into a box of unused gift bags.
- Noise and distraction: With the house full of people, music, and general chaos, you are less likely to hear the scratching in the walls or the chewing in the loft, giving the pests a perfect window to settle in and to multiply.
While you’re enjoying a hot chocolate after a trip to the Covent Garden markets, double-check that all festive food is in airtight containers. Don’t leave wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, or excess packaging lying around, it’s excellent nesting material.
Travel, guests, and the unwanted souvenir
December is a peak travel time, and nothing is better at hitchhiking than a bed bug. This is why London pest control at Christmas must include a focus on visitors and luggage.
Bed bugs
Whether you’re heading off to visit family or welcoming guests to your home in Westminster or Hammersmith and Fulham, bed bugs are a real risk.
What they’re after:
- Luggage and layers: They cling to clothing, bags, and coats. A visitor arriving from a busy hotel or public transport hub can unknowingly bring them straight into your home.
- Warm bedrooms: Once they get inside a warm, comfortable London bedroom, they don’t care about the cold outside. They are active, feeding, and breeding throughout the holiday season.
Ask guests or returning students to keep luggage off beds and soft furnishings. If you’re staying in a hotel yourself, check the mattress seams before you unpack. When you return home, immediately wash everything on a high heat.
Moths
Christmas is when we pull out the delicate fabrics. That expensive wool blanket, the silk tie, or that cashmere scarf we only wear once a year. If moth larvae have been quietly feeding, you’re about to find the holes.
What they’re after:
- Undisturbed storage: Your stored winter woollens in the back of the wardrobe are a perfect food source.
- The decorations: They can also be attracted to decorations made of natural fibres, felt, or even dried floral arrangements that stay tucked away for 11 months of the year.
Before you start wearing those special clothes, give them a good shake and inspection, even wash them on a high heat before you wear. Use the time when you put the decorations back up to vacuum and check the seams of any fabric boxes they were stored in.
Your 5-step checklist for London pest control at Christmas
Don’t let a pest invasion be the biggest shock of your Christmas morning. A little preparation now goes a very long way.
- Secure: Store all festive food, including sweets, biscuits, nuts, and dry goods, in heavy-duty sealed containers. Secure your kitchen bins and empty them frequently, especially in busy, high-rise areas.
- Inspect: Before you start hanging those precious decorations, give your real Christmas tree a good shake outdoors. Inspect the base and trunk for any movement.
- Manage: If guests are staying over, keep their suitcases and bags off beds and floors, ideally on a luggage rack or in a hallway closet.
- Tidy: Immediately break down and remove all cardboard, packing peanuts, and wrapping paper after opening presents. Don’t leave these attractive materials piled up for a week.
- Act: If you find any sign of droppings, gnaw marks, or hear scratching while the Christmas movie is on, don’t wait until the New Year. Call Mercury Pest Control immediately. The problem is easier and cheaper to solve before it becomes a full invasion.
London pest control services that we provide
Mercury Pest Control provide expert pest control across all of London for both residential and commercial properties.
The most common London pests include;
- Pest control surveys in London | professional inspections to identify pest activity and entry points
- Textile insect control in London | expert treatment for clothes moths, carpet beetles, and other fabric pests
- Rat control in London | effective rat removal and prevention for residential properties and rat pest control for commercial properties
- Mouse control in London | safe mouse proofing and treatment solutions
- Squirrel control in London | humane squirrel removal and loft protection services
- Wasp and fly control in London |fast and reliable wasp nest removal and fly treatments
- Bed bug treatment in London | thorough bed bug treatments and ongoing monitoring
- Drainage surveys for rats in London | specialist CCTV drain surveys to trace and block rat access routes
- Commercial pest management in London | tailored pest prevention plans for all commercial businesses including restaurants, offices, warehouses, and retail spaces
- Integrated pest management in London | long-term, environmentally responsible pest control solutions
📞 Call: 0208 166 5110
📩 Email: info@mercurypestcontrol.co.uk
📍 Serving homes and businesses across all London postcodes | London Pest Control Christmas