ILE Pest Control Rodent Infestations
Renfrewshire Council · 22 January 2025
Back to Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board — 22 January 2025 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board On: 22 January 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Pest Control – Rodent Infestations ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 At the Council meeting on 26 September 2024, the following Motion was approved: Council recognises the concerns that local people have had over the apparent rise in the sighting of rats within our communities. Council therefore instructs Officers to submit a report to the relevant Board that will focus on the issue in detail, including the legal context and highlighting the means and solutions on how the council, partner organisations and residents can manage the situation. 1.2 Legal obligations on local authorities require that, so far as reasonably practicable, their district is kept free from rats (and mice) and that they take action to destroy any infestation on land which they own or occupy. There are statutory powers available to enforce similar duties on owners and occupiers of private land. 1.3 The Council provides a pest control service which has been expanded over recent years to bring this work fully in-house, providing a more effective and efficient service. The team works closely and in partnership with Neighbourhood Services, Waste Operations, Housing Services and external partners such as Registered Social Landlords to maximise its effectiveness and to address any issues which may be contributing locally to infestations. 1.4 Data analysis has been undertaken for all recorded service requests for rat treatments over the six-year period from April 2018 to November 2024 and whilst a slightly increasing trend is noted over the most recent two year period, the full term analysis for the six years displays a decreasing trend.
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1.5 Localised areas do at times, appear to have been impacted by rats however there are identified reasons for these which have been addressed with owners/ occupiers, Housing Services and Registered Social Landlords, as appropriate to support eradication works. 1.6 Whilst the level of reported incidences of rat infestations does not indicate any significant increase across the period considered, scrutiny on rodent activity within Renfrewshire will continue with appropriate actions being taken to address identified issues, including enforcement of legal requirements on property/land under private ownership, as appropriate. 1.7 Control and management of rat populations requires effective working across housing tenures, private land owners, businesses, Council Services and Registered Social Landlords to ensure that measures are in place to prevent infestations, including proper waste management, rodent-proofing buildings, and managing vegetation or other conditions which may attract rats. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board: 2.1 Notes the content of the report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The main piece of legislation available to the local authority to tackle rodent infestations is The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. The act states “It shall be the duty of every local authority to take such steps as may be necessary to secure so far as practicable that their district is kept free from rats and mice, and in particular— (a)from time to time to carry out such inspections as may be necessary for the purpose aforesaid; (b)to destroy rats and mice on land of which they are the occupier and otherwise to keep such land so far as practicable free from rats and mice; (c)to enforce the duties of owners and occupiers of land under the following provisions of this Part of this Act, and to carry out such operations as are authorised by those provisions”. 3.2 It is therefore clear that responsibility for dealing with any rat infestation rests with the land and property owners and there is no obligation on the Council under these circumstances.
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3.3 Local authorities can also use the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to address issues related to statutory nuisances. This legislation allows local authorities to address statutory nuisances in their area, including any premises or accumulation. 3.4 An example of where this would apply would be if there was an accumulation of food waste then this could be deemed as a statutory nuisance as it has the potential to attract vermin. Under this legislation the Council has the power to serve a notice on the person/s responsible for the nuisance to abate the nuisance. Where those responsible cannot be identified then the responsibility would fall to the landowner. Where a notice is not complied with the Council can carry out any necessary remedial works in default and can try to recover costs. This process can be lengthy and can be expensive for the Council due to failure to pay. 3.5 However, there are some limitations to the legislation, for example, an accumulation of inert waste cannot be classed as a statutory nuisance as it does not attract vermin. 3.6 There are also some legal restrictions on how poisons are used which limits the ability to undertake treatments in some areas; particularly open areas of land. 3.7 Causes of rodent infestation can be complex and multifaceted however, when Pest Control Officers attend calls, they will investigate potential contributory factors and reasons which have either resulted in the infestation, or factors which result in the infestation persisting, despite attempts to eradicate the rats. During investigations some reasons which have been identified include inappropriate storage of household waste and overflowing bins, loose black bag waste, accumulation of dog fouling and bird/wild animal feeding. Where informal efforts to resolve issues are unsuccessful, Officers will take appropriate enforcement action to resolve the situation and have a range of powers available to them to do so. 3.8 Table 1 below outlines the number of requests for service and notices served to address an accumulation of refuse. In line with the Council’s Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy and graduated approach to enforcement, every service request will result in an officer carrying out an initial advisory visit with enforcement action being carried out as a last resort.
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Incidents recorded 2023/24 April-December 2024 Service requests in relation to refuse in backcourts/gardens 62 65 Enforcement Notices serviced to remove waste 3 3 Works carried out in default 1 0 Duty of Care Visits 89 52 4. Current Position and Analysis 4.1 Detailed analysis has been undertaken for all recorded service requests for rat treatments over the six-year period from April 2018 to November 2024 and whilst a slightly increasing trend is noted over the most recent two-year period, the full-term analysis for the six years demonstrates a decreasing trend. There is no specific identified reason for either the short term increase or long term decrease. The recent small increase could be as a result of increased reporting and awareness within the community, however there is not a single identified cause that is responsible. The graphs within Appendix 1 of this report provides information on these trends and numbers of enquiries per Ward area over the full six-year period. 4.2 Localised ‘hotspot’ areas have been identified through this data analysis and closer examination of these areas has identified factors which are likely to be the cause of infestation and these are summarised below. 4.3 Bird and Wild Animal Feeding Bird and wild animal feeding is a contentious and emotive issue to address with residents. There is no legislation available to prevent residents from feeding birds and wild animals on private land. Where this has been identified as a likely food source for rats, officers will request that individuals refrain from bird/animal feeding whilst eradication treatment is being undertaken. They have found there is often resistance from the public to stop feeding, even on a temporary basis to allow the rat treatment to progress. In public areas bird and wild animal feeding can be classed as littering and a Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued. There can be challenges with this as Officers require to witness the feeding taking place in order to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.
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4.4 Business Waste There are specific duties on businesses who have a duty of care to ensure that any waste arising in the course of their business is segregated, stored and kept under their proper control before this is finally transferred to a waste service provider for its appropriate disposal. The duty extends to ensuring anyone who removes their waste are authorised to do this and that the waste producer is satisfied that their waste will be correctly disposed of. Businesses who do not keep their waste under proper control are breaching this statutory duty of care but in so doing, will provide an available food source for rats. This is often the cause of infestation through rats firstly being attracted to the food source. The Council has enforcement powers to ensure businesses comply with this Duty and Officers engage with business operators as required to ensure they have satisfactory waste arrangements in place. There are plans in place to have an increased focus on business duty of care arrangements in 2025 with a joint working initiative taking place with the Environmental Taskforce and Waste Services. 4.5 Domestic Waste Households are also under a duty of care, to a less stringent level, to manage their waste. Through various teams within the Council including Housing, Waste Operations and Environmental Health, work is undertaken to ensure as far as is practicable that residents appropriately store waste and put bins out for servicing regularly. 5. Service Delivery and Joint Working Arrangements 5.1 The Council has always provided a pest control service for Renfrewshire residents through the employment of in-house Pest Control Officers, and currently there are two full time equivalent posts allocated to this role (with support from an Invest Trainee who assists with treatments). 5.2 The Officers also work alongside Environmental Health Officers, Housing Officers, Neighbourhood Services, Waste Operations and RSLs whereby any issues or concerns about property/land which are contributing to any situation are addressed through relevant staff engaging with owners/occupiers/tenants to ensure that remedial measures are instigated to assist in resolving any infestation.
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5.3 Members will note that charges for the provision of pest control services were introduced by this Board in April 2020 and analysis of calls for service requests has not indicated any significant impact on requests as a result of this. Figure 1 within Appendix 1 indicates a general downward trend in the number of service requests being received, albeit there are significant fluctuations in numbers across the months. 6. Next Steps 6.1 In previous years the Council’s in house Pest Control team had to rely on support for external contractors in order to meet its obligations in relation to control of pests. A review of the service has led to a significant reduction on the reliance of use of private contractors with this now only occurring in exceptional circumstances for specialist activity. 6.2 The Environmental Health team take a proactive approach to control of pests and will continue to develop those joint working relationships and where possible deal with pests by preventing the environment for them occurring in the first place. 6.3 A joint area of focus for the Service going forward will be a refreshed approach to enforcement of duty of care legislation with every business in Renfrewshire being visited in the coming months to ensure the legislation is being enforced appropriately. 6.4 Whilst the latest short term trend analysis indicates a slight increasing trend in infestation, there does not appear to be any specific reasons for this (outwith those described earlier within this report), and no wider issues have been identified. There is no simple solution to the number of infestations which are being reported however the control and management of rat populations requires effective working across all housing tenures, private landowners, businesses, Council Services and Registered Social Landlords to ensure that measures are in place to prevent infestations, including proper waste management, rodent-proofing buildings, and managing vegetation or other conditions which may attract rats. 6.5 Pest Control Officers have also been trialling new forms of treatment and recently have used a calcium-based rodenticide which acts differently to traditional poisons by having a marked increase in calcium and mineralisation of tissue, which becomes lethal and the bait also has a stop-feeding effect on rodents within a 24 hour period of uptake. Early indications are positive and this appears to eradicate infestations more quickly, resulting in fewer visits being required by Officers and benefiting residents at the same time. If the trialling is successful, the use of this rodenticide will be expanded as appropriate. ___________________________________________________________________
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development - none 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is safe – control and eradication of pests is essential to ensuring that our communities are protected from the adverse impacts which can result from vermin infestation, including disease, property damage and general wellbeing. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality & Human Rights (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - none 9. Procurement -N/A 10. Risk - none 11. Privacy Impact- N/A 12. Climate Risk- N/A 13. Children’s Rights- N/A 14. Cosla Policy Position- N/A _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None _________________________________________________________ Author: Colin Hunter, Environmental Health and Community Safety Manager Email: colin.hunter@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Appendix 1 Pest Control Service Request Breakdown Figure 1- Long Term (Six year) Trend Data Figure 2- Short term (2 Year) Trend Data