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Pest Control

West Dunbartonshire Council takes action, as necessary, to secure that the district is kept free from rats, mice and other pests. The Section offers a range of pest related and pest control services.

 

Pest Control On Line

e-Pest Control Launched by West Dunbartonshire Council.

 

At West Dunbartonshire Council we recognise the importance of our customers and that  is why we are working hard in the implementation of  the Customer First initiative.

 

Customer First is a Scottish Government sponsored programme developed in partnership with all 32 Scottish local authorities. It is managed, with the support of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), under the direction of the Improvement Service (IS). It aims to deliver 'first time' public services by re-designing them around customers' needs.

 

The programme supports the principles of: easier to access, better integrated, local services; effective collaboration across the public sector; better use of public resources; high standards of public service; and willingness to innovate and learn from others.

The programme also underpins the Scottish Government's commitment to work in partnership with Scotland's local authorities to:

 

  • deliver more convenient and responsive public services;
  • encourage the take up of online access to services;
  • ensure that at least 75% of core service requests can be dealt with at the first point of contact.

 

The Environmental Health Section has launched Pest Control On-Line, the first  integrated on-line council service, enabling both the service request and the payment to be made during the same transaction.  Residents of the area can request and pay for services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

“This is a first class example of West Dunbartonshire Councils commitment to our customers, providing a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year access to booking services – we are using  technology to provide better services to the people of West Dunbartonshire”. commented Councillor Craig Mclaughlin.  

 

“West Dunbartonshire Council are committed to providing first class services to our customers and will continue to strive to enable easy access to these services” commented Patricia Marshall, Manager of ICT.  

 

The Council’s website has had online forms and facility to pay bills online for several years but this recent improvement allows us to link the Council’s payment system to existing forms.  There will now be a programme of work to extend this integration to other online service requests and systems  in the coming months.

 

You can access the pest control on line form at http://www.wdcweb.info/site/request-an-online-service/

Change in Pest Control Charges 

West Dunbartonshire Council have been providing a first class pest control service to the local community since 1996.

 

The Council is not legally bound to provide these services although it does have enforcement obligations to ensure that the district is kept free from rats and mice as far as practicable.

 

In practice West Dunbartonshire Council have met this duty through the provision of a responsive pest control service and this service has been extended to also deal with certain household insects of public health significance.

 

The majority of these services have been carried out free of charge. Regrettably this is no longer sustainable for the Council.

 

As part of the recent spending review it has been necessary to introduce a new charging scheme for rodent and insect treatments to domestic property owners, Housing Associations and private rented accommodation. All council house tenants currently pay for these services indirectly through their rent.

 

West Dunbartonshire Council have compared the charge of neighbouring councils and private pest control companies and have selected a rate which is one of the most competitive available.

 

From 1 May 2008 a charge will be made for all pest control services. Payment will be necessary in advance of receiving treatments.  The current fee is £43.00. 

 

Pest control advice or information will still be provided free of charge.

 

If you wish to use the service provided by the Environmental Health Section please contact the Customer Contact Centre on 01389 738282.

Pest Control Service Policy

Priority will be given at all times to:

 

  • Rat or mice infestations.
  • Wasps (provided that safe access and egress is available).
  • Body fluid disinfection.
  • Pests described in item 4 below.

 

Rats and Pigeons

Bees (particularly honey bees) should be regarded as beneficial insects and only treated where they have entered buildings or otherwise pose a significant and unavoidable threat to health.

Prior to treatment being carried out or advice given in respect of an insect infestation a specimen must be positively identified.


Treatment will be carried out in respect of the following:

 

  • Household Pests- bed bugs, biscuit beetles, dermestes spp. (hide beetles and larder beetles), anthrenus spp. (carpet beetles), attagenus spp. (fur beetle and black carpet beetle), fungus beetles, plaster beetles, cockroaches, Pharaoh's ants, and fleas.
  • Stored Products Insects-flour beetles, grain beetles, mealworm beetles, grain weevils, rice weevils.

 

Treatment may only be carried out in the respect of the following where householders have already made serious attempts to treat the problem and where workload permits:

 

  • Blowflies (blue bottles and green bottles), cluster flies, houseflies, spider beetles (advice on insecticides and methods of treatment will be given).

 

Treatment will only be carried out in respect of the following where workload permits, in exceptional circumstances (e.g. an OAP or disabled person with no family or friends to assist) and where authorised by the Team Leader:

 

  • Book lice (psocids), fruit flies, earwigs, garden ants, garden weevils, ground beetles, houseflies, moths, slugs, snails, spiders, and woodlice (slaters) - advice on insecticides and methods of treatment will be given.

 

Treatment will not be carried out in respect of the following, however advice will be given to inform the owner of the property and to seek specialist advice:

 

  • Wood-boring beetles (furniture beetles, death watch beetles), wood-boring weevils, house longhorn beetle, powder post beetle, and the wharf borer.

 

No bird, mole, rabbit, squirrel or any other animal shall be subjected to any action or treatment of any kind whatsoever.

Where advice is sought and the enquirer advised to contact another pest control service, the enquirer shall be directed to the 'Yellow Pages' and not to be directed to any individual or company either directly or indirectly.

Guide to Pest Control

 

The Guide to Pest Control document (998Kb) provides general information on the more common types of pests including their distribution, significance, life cycle and control.  

The following leaflets provide supplementary information on some of the more common types of pests.