Pest control is increasingly on the radar in light of a recent report which has revealed the presence of a new generation of rats carrying a genetic mutation, making them resistant to some conventional poisons.

A study by the University of Reading, commissioned by the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU), has identified ‘the massive extent of L120Q resistance across the whole of central southern England’.

It also reports that rats without the genetic mutation are being killed off by poison, so the resistant species are taking their place, leaving a growing population of resistant pure-breds.

With their numbers expanding, there could be a significant risk to public health if their population is left unchecked, in both urban and rural environments.

As a result, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) suggests that rodents particularly must be dealt with by those with the skills required to understand rodent behaviour and their habitat, and who know how to treat any particular strain.

Local authorities should be aware of the situation and have the knowledge in place so they offer the right approach to take to tackle the issue.

‘Unbugging’ commercial opportunities

BPCA is seeing an increasing number of local authorities working within the membership structure developing pest control services.

One example is Lancaster City Council who rebranded their pest control unit to ‘Unbugged’.

A couple of years ago, Lancaster City Council was asked to make its pest control division cost neutral. Against a trend of local authorities closing their pest management departments, Lancaster was keen to not only meet, but exceed this target.

The idea for Unbugged first arose in 2016 when, due to the state of public finances, the council began to consider commercialising some of its services.

Lancaster City Council’s plan was to take on more, higher value commercial contracts, increase the size of the team and offer more pest control services, thereby increasing income and protecting the services provided to residents.

And with the ambition to pursue larger contracts, Lancaster City Council wanted to break away from its local authority image hence the Unbugged brand.

In addition to general services, Unbugged now carries out rodent proofing and offers a range of bird-proofing services including spikes, netting and gull egg replacement. They’ve just experienced a rise in requests for pigeon-proofing solar panels.

An educated approach

Local governments can also play a key role in educating the public to the importance of being Pest Aware, with one of the main ways being mindful of the link between pests and litter.

In March, BPCA organised Pest Awareness Week to raise awareness of the issue – highlighting the threat to society and the knock-on effect to public health.

As well as the clean-up, BPCA also re-released it’s A to Z of Pests, a reference tool for identifying pest species, as well as a supporting PestAware blog - customer tools which the Association encourages local authorities to utilise or even link to.

PestAware features professional advice from leading experts in the pest control industry and is designed to help customers tackle their domestic or commercial pest problems.

Ultimately, BPCA suggests that local authorities are perfectly placed to raise awareness of the challenges faced. Through engagement and collaboration with members, partners and supporters, BPCA is confident the vital message of protecting public health together can be echoed by communities across the nation.

Dee Ward-Thompson is technical manager of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA)