Most buildings require some form of pest control service.
This can range from removing wasp nests to pigeon proofing. As with any service delivered through a managing agent or third party, to be effective, the delivery has to be managed and the lines of communication good. Dave Channon of Microbee explains the process of good pest control.
Residents naturally want to spend as little as possible on pest control and unless they live in the basement or ground floor they probably won’t notice the problem. This often means other residents, living on the upper floors, think they are not getting value for money. The other point of contact residents will have with pests are on fire escapes, which provide sheltered roosts for pigeons. Pigeons make a mess of landings and stairs with their droppings, which contain disease organisms and attract flies.
Bins and planted areas also can cause problems. Foxes can be attracted to bins, ripping open black bags looking for food and scattering rubbish. The smell of the bins can attract rats and mice to the area and if they find sufficient food, they can set up home in planted areas. Occasionally, rats can find their way into buildings through sewers and drains, and can swim around water traps or chew through plastic pipes and find their way into flats. Inevitably, at some point residents will need a regular pest control service, usually focussed around the common parts. Occasionally, they may also need some form of pigeon deterrents installed.
Different ideas
Residents will require advice on hygiene and control measures to keep any problems down to acceptable levels. London is a multi-cultural city and different cultures have different ideas on what is a pest or a nuisance and how it should be handled. A pest control contractor, therefore, needs tact and patience to get the message across. The use of chemicals needs to be explained – residents worry about the toxicity of chemicals and possible harmful effects on themselves, their pets and the planet. The days when a pest company could put something down and the pest problem solved are long gone. Nowadays, chemicals are subject to strict vetting before being approved and there are strict parameters of use. One result of this is chemicals act more slowly than they used to, but are a lot safer and the effects can be reversed if they are consumed accidentally. Typically, it can take 15 days between placing rat and mouse poisons and seeing an effect on the ground.
Relying on poisons without undertaking preventative measures means there will be longer periods when residents are experiencing nuisance and having to wait for relief. Few residents suffer in silence and they will be quick to complain to the managing agent when there’s a mouse in the kitchen.
Legally a pest control contractor must assess a mechanical means of control (proofing and hygiene) before resorting to the use of pesticides. This can involve blocking holes to prevent pests entering or carrying out internal repairs to restrict the movements of pests within buildings. Some pest control companies offer this as an additional service. However few are qualified in building techniques and there is a danger that inappropriate materials will be used to seal gaps that could themselves release toxic gases in the event of a fire. This is especially important where common services, such as pipes and cables, run through walls from one flat to another.
Health and safety
There are a number of health and safety issues when pest control services are used, and these include avoiding accidental contact with the chemicals used. This usually means placing rodent baits in anti-tamper bait boxes. The more exposed the location of the boxes, the more robust they should be. The location and contents of each box need to be logged and the dates when they were checked and refreshed recorded. This information should be kept in a book on site, and the managing agent and pest control contractor should keep copies. Also information about treatments within individual flats should be kept confidential because sometimes nosy neighbours can cause problems by attempting to cast blame on another resident.
The managing agent also will need to keep a record of which chemicals have been used in a building and will need to be satisfied a proper assessment has been provided. It is also wise for them to have a copy of the chemical safety data sheet so in the event of a pet eating rat poison they can inform a vet. They will also need copies of risk assessments and method statements before works take place.
The managing agent will need to act as the messenger between residents where block treatments are being used. For instance, pharaoh ants spread right through a building and they cannot be treated piecemeal and successful elimination requires access to all the flats at the same time on five or six occasions. Each visit will require a letter to each occupier and a reminder that failure to provide access could compromise the treatment, wasting thousands of pounds.
A pest control contractor with an excellent communication system is vital to the success of any managing agent’s business.
For more information about pest control, contact Microbee on tel: 0208 540 9968, fax: 0208 540 7477, email: info [at] microbee.co.uk, web: www.microbee.co.uk
