Q. Why do I have to pay for Pest Control treatments? Are the costs not included in my Council Tax?
There is no statutory obligation for any Local Authority to provide a pest control service. However, Oldham Council has chosen to fund the free treatment of public health pests in domestic premises and the free treatment of rats in commercial premises.
Rats, Mice, Fleas, Cockroaches and Bedbugs are classified as Public Health Pests.
All other pest treatments are not free of charge unless the landlords of your property have a contract with us (e.g. First Choice Homes). In most cases we can make a treatment within three working days of the booking being made. Please call 0161 770 4509 for further details of charges etc.
Q. What pests do you treat for?
We offer a treatment service for the following pests:
Bedbugs;
Beetles;
Cockroaches;
Fleas;
Mice;
Mites;
Rats;
Silverfish;
Some other insects;
Squirrels;
Squirrels (indoors); and
Wasps.
There is a charge to treat for some of the above pests. Please telephone 0161 770 4509 for details of charges and exemptions.
We do not provide a treatment service for:
Ants, although advice can be obtained by telephoning 0161 770 3509.
Bees, although advice can be obtained by telephoning 0161 770 4509.
Foxes, although advice can be obtained by telephoning 0161 770 4509.
Q. Why do Council tenants get pest treatments for free, when everyone else has to pay?
Unlike other people, Council tenants do not pay Pest Control direct. However they do pay for pest treatments via the rent that they pay. Please telephone 0161 770 4509 for further information.
Q. How quickly can you treat my pest infestation?
The officers will endeavor to make a first visit within 3 days of receiving a request. You are likely to be given an indication as to the workload of the appropriate officer for your area and the likely length of time it will take to attend to your request. The clerk taking your request will ask you what time and what days would be convenient to you to treat. If you require a visit outside of our normal working hours, we will endeavor to meet your needs. Please note that priority has of course to be given to certain jobs, for the safety of the client. Please telephone 0161 770 4509 for further information.
Q. Can you treat my pest infestation at the weekend or during the evening as I work?
If you are unable to arrange for someone to be at your premises during our normal working hours, we will endeavour to meet your request to treat on an evening or weekend. Please telephone 0161 770 4509 for further information.
Q. What if the pest treatment is not completely successful?
In the vast majority of cases, pests can be successfully eradicated by professional treatment. However in some cases some pest activity continues after treatment. Why is this? …
Different pests and the different treatment options all work in different ways. Some treatments take a while to work, whilst others work almost immediately.
Additionally, some premises are inadequately proofed, so although the pests are killed, they are simply replaced by new pests from outside. Visiting people, pets or delivery of second-hand furnishings, can sometimes reintroduce to the premises after treatment. Effective treatment can also be hampered in dirty or cluttered premises.
Aside from problems with premises, some pests are becoming immune to poisons and in some cases - especially mice - pests have stopped eating poisons because they prefer to eat other food and waste that humans carelessly dispose.
All these issues have one thing in common - They are beyond the complete control of the pest control industry. Therefore pest control businesses rarely issue any guarantee.In some cases, the pest control operative will revisit to confirm that the problem is resolved, however, please do not hesitate to contact us if you find a problem recurs.
Q. Can I report an infestation at somebody else’s home or business premises?
If you believe there to be a pest problem at somebody else’s premises, whether a house or a commercial premises, you should speak with an Environmental Health Officer on 0161 770 4509. If the problem concerns a food premises, you may wish to speak with an Environmental Health Officer in the food team on 0161 770 4487.
Q. Is there an emergency pest control service available for evenings and weekends?
There is an out of hours emergency pest control service in operation, but this is solely for residents who discover rats in the house or have a wasps nest inside the property. Please telephone 0161 770 4580 to access this service. Requests relating to other pest problems should be made during normal working hours.
Oldham Council cannot offer an eradication service for Foxes. We are able to offer advice by telephone if required.
Foxes are found in both rural and urban and environments. Each year the Council receives a few enquiries about foxes that are scavenging for food and/or making screaming noises. These complaints are usually confined to the fox mating season (Christmas to the end of January). There are very few complaints after the short mating season.
In the UK it is illegal to poison, gas, asphyxiate, maim, stab, impale, drown, club foxes. Additionally most forms of snaring are also prohibited.
There are some practical ways of deterring a fox from entering your property:
If the problem persists after taking the above steps, consider using a chemical animal deterrent. These are available from garden centres. These are repulsive to the fox and can help to exclude your property from the foxes' territory. There are two products widely available in the UK for this purpose.
An alternative chemical approach is to use a cat scent neutraliser such as Cat Off - this reduces the territorial marker smells from urine and faeces. Whatever you do use, please use sparingly and always in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Do not use any other products or substances, as they can be dangerous to pets, plants and children. The best time of year to deter foxes is during the late summer and autumn. Oldham Council does not endorse any of these products.
Please telephone 0161 770 4509 for further information or see DEFRA's Technical Advice Note on Urban Foxes.