Brent Pest Control News:
| wembley restaurant closed over cockroach infestation by kurt on 16/10/2012 |
| Last tuesday at around 7pm we got a call from a very distraught chinese lady in wembley. Her restaurant had received a visit from the local environmental health officer following a complaint by a customer. The restaurant customer had perchased an order for home delivery, and on delivery apparantly found a live cockroach in the order. The EHO carried out the surprise earlier on tuesday and following their findings issued an emergency closure order ( meaning the restaurant had to shut up shop on the spot)! We arrived on site shortly before 8pm the same evening to take a look around to ascertain the level of activity and of course to carry out the required treatments. The first thing that came to mind following the inspection was the lack of cockroaches we found! We only found a very low level infestation that was concentrated around one fridge and the microwave on top of the fridge. No other signs of activity were found anywhere in the entire restaurant. We discussed with the client the best way to proceed with the eradication programme, and agreed a 3 way approach would get them opened the soonest by the EHO. The first part of the treatment consisted of carrying out a spray treatment to the wall/floor junctions followed straight after by an ultra low volume fumigation treatment. This would then be followed up the following day by a gel treatment. Following the spray treatment and fumigation, we went back the following day to carry out the gel treatment. On arrival we found a small number of dead cockroaches around the fridge and microwave and no where else, confirming our initial findings! We then did the gel treatment and left. 2 days later we did a follow up visit to ensure all activity had been exterminated. On this visit we found not a single live or dead cockroach. JOB DONE, and the restaurant was allowed to re-open. The reason for this article however is not how good we are or how good the EHO is, but rather the seeming double standards in certain council departments!! The friday before this incident, we received another similar call from another reastaurant within a short distance (probably about 2-3 miles away) whom had also had an EHO visit. When we inspected this restaurant however they were literally running alive with both cockroaches and mice in every part of the restaurant. The big difference however was this restaurant had only received an improvement order! Meaning they were not closed down on the spot, but rather were given 14 days to improve the standards! From a pest controllers view, this makes little to no sense at all!!! Food for thought |
| Bed bugs in Brent by paulg on 23/04/2012 |
| Bedbug numbers are on the increase everywhere around the UK and Brent is no exception. As a result of the increase, the number of requests to the council and pest control companies for bedbug treatments is also increasing. One of the main reasons for the increase of bed bugs in Brent is the way we travel, not just around to a friend’s house, but the way we travel around the country and the world. The ease and countless ways in which we travel today means that the bed bug can do exactly the same. It only takes one pregnant female bed bug to crawl into your bag or your jacket, anywhere in the world and it is then transported back to your home without you even knowing. Once there, eggs can be laid in miniscule, obscure places and that can be the start of an infestation. The association that bedbugs have with humans means that they can be a nuisance, as they feast at night on sleeping human hosts. Itching caused by the bites is usual and the possibility of a secondary infection is common. The presence of bedbugs in your home can cause distress, prevent people from enjoying a sense of well-being and be the cause of many sleepless nights. The reaction to a bedbug bite may vary. Some people are lucky and show little or no reaction at all whereas others may suffer an allergic or other severe reaction and the constant itching can cause minor bleeding and of course sleepless nights. Indications of bedbug activity may include: Live or dead bedbugs, hatched or unhatched eggs and blood spotting. Blood spotting is digested blood excreted by the insect, which may be initially seen on bed linen, but can be noticed along the mattress seams and other places where bedbugs may hide. There may sometimes be a sickly, sweet smell like coriander/almond if the infestation is heavy. Evidence of bites on the skin is the most common signs. The bite is very similar to flea bite, just a little smaller. An inspection to determine the presence of bedbugs is essential and should be carried out by a professional pest control technician. Bedbugs have a flat body shape and will hide in any crack or crevice they can find, preferring dark, isolated and protected areas. Bedbugs prefer wood, paper and fabric surfaces and so areas with these materials will be inspected thoroughly. If bed bugs are not found after an inspection, there may be other reasons for you having bite like rashes. If you have pets, for instance, it could be fleas. It may be something as simple as a change in your fabric conditioner and could be an allergic reaction to a particular chemical within the conditioner. Sticky monitoring traps may be put in place instead of a chemical treatment to help determine what the problem may be. As a last resort, in a heavily infested property, you may be informed to get rid of any infected furniture and fabrics, which can be very costly. |
| Increasing rats in brent by paulg on 06/03/2012 |
| The number of rats is on the rise, with the borough of Brent experiencing a rise in its rat population in recent years. Pest controllers in Brent have reported an increase of around 16 per cent in the number of call outs to properties to deal with the pests. In the past three years there have been 5,246 reports of infestations of rats treated in Brent, which is an increase from 42 per cent to 60 per cent of all pest-related calls. The council fears that the infestations could result in increased health risks for residents. Areas like Wembley Central, Harlesden, Willesden and Kilburn are the areas affected the worst, according to the council. The local authority is saying that residents and local businesses are playing a large part for the increase in rats by not recycling and disposing of their rubbish properly. A spokesperson for Brent council said: "Rubbish bags left at the side of bins or on top of open wheelie bins, instead of inside them, is like a nightly banquet for rats. The more glass, plastics and cardboard we recycle properly in containers provided, the more space will be available in our bins, for any food waste, allowing lids to close and meaning there is less need to leave sacks on the pavements.” The National Pest Technicians Association says domestic waste is a major cause of rat infestations. Unfortunately modern lifestyles provide all the fuel that vermin need in order to thrive in our cities. The best defence is to deprive them of food, waste and shelter. Increasing recycling and the role that residents and businesses can do is vital to help councils get on top of the problem. |