Local Authority cutbacks drive pest control measures into commercial sector.
Powys County Council has announced that it is scrapping its pest control services in bid to save up to £20m.
Residents will now be unable to request treatments for mice, cockroach or rats and wasp removal services will end on 26th September.
Powys joins several other Local Authorities in Wales such as Newport and Monmouth in disbanding the service following further budget cutbacks this year.
Welsh Council Cutbacks in Pest Control
The cuts have been met with widespread dismay from residents of the local authorities however, home protection and pest control specialists Protectahome of Newport, believe that the disbanding of this particular service isn’t completely bad news for residents.
The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) national survey analysed the performance of Local Authority’s pest control measures and highlighted weaknesses in the service provided with resource limited following recent austerity measures.
Welsh councils recorded the highest number of jobs per pest control officer in the UK resulting in added strain to achieve prompt response times. Local Authorities’ response time averages 2-4 days whilst specialist companies, like Protectahome respond within 24 hours.
Residents have also expressed concerns about the potential rising costs incurred by using the commercial sector, however, during a recent price survey Protectahome were found to offer cheaper or equivalent fees than 60% of Local Authorities.
Gary Briscoe, Managing Director of Protectahome commented that:
“Pest control is a very specialist area and requires the expertise of a qualified individual with significant experience in the field. At Protectahome we have over 30 years’ experience in dealing with all aspects of pest control scenarios and our qualified technicians are able to bring all of that experience and expertise to each job.
“Now that the emphasis on pest control work is moving back into the commercial sector. This will benefit the standard of work across the industry, particularly in decreasing response times, which will potentially prevent future issues and pest problems getting out of hand.”
