PREVENT PEST PROBLEMS: GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE FROM THE START

[ LEADING PEST CONTROL COMPANY CLEANKILL is seeing a surge in enquiries from developers and construction companies experiencing problems with rats on construction sites.

That is not entirely surprising, explained Cleankill’s technical manager Chris Davis, citing the increase in construction on brownfield sites as a factor.

“Workers often disturb rat habitats when old sewage systems are damaged. The rats will then look for harbourage in other areas of the site or nearby properties. Demolition of buildings with a pest infestation can result in a dispersion of the pests into the surrounding area and them later moving into and infesting the new buildings. Professional pest control advice should be sought before demolition or construction starts,” Chris stressed.

Construction taking place in the countryside, where there are new housing developments, may also disturb and displace many rats by disturbing and destroying their burrows.

In its guidance document Pest minimisation: Best Practice for the construction industry, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health says that developers and construction contractors should employ qualified pest control professionals to develop and follow safe, effective and environmentally responsible pest management strategies. That is an important part of ensuring a safe working environment for employees, contractors and others who may be affected by the work, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Pests including birds, mosquitoes, squirrels and mice, as well as rats, can spread diseases such as salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis, ornithosis and leptospirosis.

Planning and design

Rodents can have a serious structural and financial impact on buildings – damaging thermal insulation, electrical wiring and drainage systems. The aesthetics of new buildings can also be rapidly spoiled by bird fouling. Architects and building designers need to recognise and take into account pest minimisation and management issues in the design of their projects.

The design of new property should not have points of pest ingress and harbourage and should consider accessibility for cleaning, sanitation and pest inspection. Suitable pest-proofing like interceptors should be used in drains and earthenware should be used below ground in preference to plastic systems.

Cracks and crevices in floors, walls and ceilings must be avoided or sealed. Supply pipes and cables – such as for gas, electricity, water, computer and telephone – must be tightly sealed where they pass through floors and walls.

Six weeks prior to the commencement of any demolition, the property and the surrounding area should be surveyed by a professional pest controller to identify any infestations. Where infestations are identified, appropriate treatments must be implemented to eliminate infestation before demolition.

Unprotected exposure to the debris arising from bird infestation in disused buildings can result in diseases such as ornithosis. Debris should always be removed by fully trained staff wearing appropriate PPE.

Staff facilities, including canteens, accommodation and toilets, should be constructed and maintained in a clean and hygienic manner and in accordance with relevant regulations and codes of practice. Waste must be stored safely in suitably located, pest-resistant, closable containers and removed frequently.

It is always going to be easier and more environmentally friendly to have buildings designed and constructed to exclude pest activity than to have to eliminate them at a later stage. For example:

• Avoid storing external waste bins too close to the kitchen door as that

• will attract a whole variety of pests, including flies, birds and rodents,

• that will be hard to keep out of the kitchen. Make sure there are

• adequate sealed waste bins available on a hard, flat, cleanable

• surface away from the house.

• Avoid providing large open window and roof ledges where feral

• pigeons and herring gulls can roost.

• Don’t permit areas where standing water can accumulate: that can

• provide breeding areas for midges, mosquitoes and other flies.

• Favour standing plants around the perimeter with open ground cover

• to reduce the potential for rodent and pest hiding places around the

• building.

• Remember that climbing plants may look nice but they also provide

• protection and cover for pests to climb up buildings.

Only a properly qualified pest control operator should be employed to carry out any work required. The usual minimum general qualification in the pest management industry is the RSPH/BPCA Level 2 in Pest Management.

Award-winning Cleankill Pest Control offers eradication and preventative services for all public health, including mice, rats, cockroaches, wasps, fleas, squirrels and pest birds. As a registered waste carrier Cleankill can also remove pigeon debris and other waste.

With offices in Surrey, East Sussex, Bristol and Buckinghamshire, Cleankill operates throughout London, Surrey, Sussex, the Home Counties, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset. q

• For a free survey visit www.cleankill.co.uk