Pest Control Settle

Pest Control in Settle

Settle is a small market town in the Yorkshire Dales at the head of Ribblesdale, tucked beneath the dramatic limestone cliffs of Castleberg Rock. The town has a handsome centre around the Market Place, with stone-built houses, coaching inns and narrow lanes winding between buildings that have stood here for centuries. It is a popular base for walkers and cavers exploring the Three Peaks and the surrounding Dales countryside and the constant flow of visitors keeps the pubs, cafes and guest houses busy. The older properties around the Market Place, Duke Street and the Shambles have thick limestone walls that look solid but are full of small gaps where mice can squeeze through. The old lime mortar softens and crumbles over time and the stone lintels and window surrounds develop cracks that are barely visible from outside but wide enough for a mouse.

The River Ribble flows through the valley below Settle and the smaller becks coming off the hillside join it from several directions. Rats follow these watercourses and the stone walls and field boundaries that criss-cross the farmland around the town. The area near the river between Settle and Giggleswick sees occasional rat activity and properties on the lower side of town towards the playing fields and the Ribble are the most exposed. The farming landscape all around Settle is another constant factor. Livestock farms with feed stores and barns support rodent numbers that move into the town edges when the weather turns cold or when farm buildings are disturbed.

Wasp nests are a summer feature in Settle, found in the stone walls of older buildings, under eaves and in the garden outbuildings that many properties here have. The limestone walls and sheltered south-facing aspects around the town centre are natural wasp nesting territory. Being a small, rural town, Settle's pest problems are closely tied to the seasons and the farming calendar, with a noticeable uptick in rodent calls from October through to March when the cold Dales weather pushes wildlife closer to warmth and food.