Chris Woodard Pest Control Services

31/03/2025

01/05/2024

Still ongoing, still a public health risk, still little or nothing being done about the issue.

The bug, which is spread by rats can enter the body through even a tiny cut or scratch, or even the lining of the mouth

02/04/2024

Watch the full first episode of Human Footprint here: https://youtu.be/m36E3n7y3mYWhen it comes to NYC, the rat is the undisputed king of the urban jungle — ...

12/11/2023

Mosquito borne zoonosis warning from WHO.

Dengue fever kills one in every 100 patients and kills thousands every year across Asia and South America - but fears are rising it could become endemic in the US due to rising global temperatures

14/09/2023

A public health crisis, coming to the streets in your town anytime soon.

06/08/2023

Well here's a thing.

A very interesting piece on how native predatory species can be used to to combat invasives.

What happens when wild native bush rats meet cockroaches they’ve never seen before?

17/06/2023

Ending use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides bromadiolone and difenacoum away from buildings   Legal authorisation is being withdrawn for open area and waste dump use for the only two second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) currently allowed to be used that way, bromadiol...

13/06/2023

''Thinking Outside The Box''.
It's time to use other methods.

Local Authorities still have a duty to control public health rodents on their land to be compliant with their legal obligation under The Prevention Of Damage By Pests Act 1949, they are already struggling to achieve proper control on their land with the pest control contractors that have been employed by councils, being heavily reliant on the use of bait boxes containing anti-coagulant rodenticides. There seems to be little concern from those in Environmental Health departments regarding the very real public health issues that exist in the parks where there is a duty to control rats and where there is a very real risk of rodent borne disease.

Most contractors employed by local councils do not have staff who are trained to think 'outside the box', bait box that is, even when rats have reached high numbers and are clearly out of control and not only detrimental to humans but wildlife.

I don't see this problem ever being resolved due to most Local Authority contractors, who have a reliance on anti- coagulant rodenticides and bait boxes, being forward thinking enough and their approach to controlling rats in those places I have mentioned. So the councils will still be in dereliction of duty with the public 'still' at risk from disease.

06/05/2021

And the issue of Brown Rats in and around Fairlands Valley Lakes still persists. A public health situation still exists relating to the bacterial infection that this species is both the reservoir of, and the vector for ie leptospirosis (weils disease).
In a communication the council informed me that their pest control service provider is compliant with the contract. However Stevenage Borough Council are not compliant with the duty they have under the Prevention Of Damage By Pests Act 1949 to control rats on their land, in fact it's out of control and the public are at risk of a zoonotic disease.

The Borough Council really need to address this because it's not going away anytime soon.

The bug, which is spread by rats can enter the body through even a tiny cut or scratch, or even the lining of the mouth

22/04/2021

The department cited a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency legal response last week to a petition filed in a federal appeals court in March by environmental groups.

04/03/2021

DOES THIS ISSUE EXIST WHERE YOU LIVE ?

It appears many Local Authorities(councils) have great difficulty in controlling rats on their land even though legislation exists to say they have to do so.
They cite examples of the pest control provider being compliant with the contract , even though that contractor only utilises one method of control and not 'thinking outside the box' when other methods could and should be employed, 'if' the council wishes to be compliant with the duty they are empowered to enforce under legislation. This of course exists to protect and preserve public health and safety.

If we accept that these Local Authorities are in the dereliction of the duty that they have under this legislation, because the service provider in unable to effectively control rats in public places, should the council notify the public of the risks relating to rodent borne disease, either with notices in areas in the immediate area of high risk, eg around bodies of water, or utilise the media to convey the imminent risk to their residents and visitors .

Some of those in these authorities charged with the health and safety of the public do not appear to appreciate the risk of contracting a dangerous rodent borne illness is increased when more people visit these locations along with ineffective rodent control measures allowing a large increase in rat numbers.
Increased rat numbers, and more than usual numbers of the public using the said locations = a recipe we should never have to contemplate.

The bug, which is spread by rats can enter the body through even a tiny cut or scratch, or even the lining of the mouth