The aim of pest control is to eliminate or reduce the number of pests so that they are no longer a public health problem and to prevent a recurrence.

We charge a call-out fee of £54.18 for pest control requests. Charges for treatments for rats and mice, which were previously suspended, restarted on 1 April 2023.

This fee applies to homeowners as well as tenants in private rented and housing association properties. We pay the charge for our tenants.

The charge will not be refunded if we cannot provide a service when we call out, as we would be unable to cover the costs of our pest control officers and contractors when attending.

If you would like to arrange a visit from a Pest Control Officer, please contact us. Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 8:45am to 4:45pm and Friday 8:45am to 4:15pm.

Treatment is provided for the following pests in residential properties

• Ants and flying ants (within the house, not in the garden)
• Bed bugs
• Beetles - the most common type of beetles are Hide Beetles (also called Dermestes Beetles or Larder Beetles) and Spider Beetles
• Cockroaches
• Fleas
• Mice (within the house, not in the garden)
• Rats
• Silverfish (within the house, not in the garden)
• Squirrels - before any treatment is carried out you should try to stop the squirrel from getting in by blocking up all access holes. Responsibility for carrying out work rests with the owner of the building (for council houses, this is the responsibility of Housing Services). Make sure the squirrel is out of the house before blocking up the holes (squirrels usually leave the nest during daylight hours to look for food and return to the nest at night to sleep). Immediately before the repair is carried out open the access hatch to the loft to generate noise to encourage the squirrels to leave the loft. We will not commence trapping until you have blocked up any obvious access holes. Please note that if we set a squirrel trap in your home we will need daily access to it
• Wasps - treated nests are not removed by our pest control staff
• Other insects - dependent on what the insect is and where the problem is

For all types of insect complaints, except wasp and bee complaints, you will need to keep a sample of the insect for the Pest Control Officer to see before any treatment will be carried out.

We aim to respond to all enquiries relating to bed bugs, cockroaches, fleas, rats or wasps within two working days and all other requests within five working days.

Treatment is not provided for the following pests

• Badgers
• Bats
• Birds (including seagulls and pigeons)
• Bumblebees (except where our Pest Control Officer considers there is a danger to people eg. due to the location of nest or nest having been accidentally exposed/disturbed). Further information on Bumblebees can be found at Bumblebee Conservation Trust
• Flies (including Sewage Flies, Fruit Flies and Blue-bottles)
• Foxes
• Honey Bees (swarming Honey Bees can arise in May, June or July - you can contact a local beekeeper to report where swarming honey bees are causing a public nuisance)
• Masonry Bees - the season for masonry bees is from the end of March to June
• Millipedes
• Moles
• Rabbits
• Slugs and snails
• Spiders
• Woodlice (also known as Slaters)
• Woodworm