Pest control

The council does not provide any pest control services and has no legal duty to do so or to treat infestations of pests.

If you need any pest treatment, you will need to find and pay for your own private pest contractor. We recommend you look at the The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) or the NPTA – The National Pest Technicians Association for more guidance and to find a local pest controller.

You must be clear about what you want, some companies will ‘only’ bait so if you have obvious places in the structure of the building which will allow pests in, they are unlikely to point these out to you.

What kind of service do you need? Do you want a service that will:

• Remove all pests.
• Remove all pests and survey your property to point out vulnerable areas and provide you with advice about these.
• Remove all pests, survey, give advice and undertake works to ensure that nests do not become active again or that work is undertaken to deal with vulnerabilities.

You may need to shop around for the pest quote and remember to check that the pest controller works in the area so that you are not paying additionally for travel time.

If your neighbours are suffering a problem as well it is often more cost effective to have the same pest controller work a job as they will have a better overall picture of what is happening and can therefore be more effective.

For rodents we do not recommend people buy over the counter poisons, these are not very effective for Reading rats which have a special genetic resistance to some poisons. Professionals are licenced to apply more potent poisons.

For more information visit our Rat prevention page

Information on bees

If you believe you have a swarm of honey bees or need help with identification, you can visit the Swarm Collection | British Beekeepers Association – they can provide advice on a local bee keeper, who may be able to collect the bees from you.