Pest Control Service Standard

The Gateshead Housing Company, working with Gateshead Council's Pest Control Team aim to:

• Deal sympathetically with all reports of pests and infestation

• Respond to major nuisance or serious health risks within two working days

• Respond to other serious nuisance reports within five working days

• Respond to all other reports within ten working days.

How can tenants and leaseholders report pests and infestations?

• Online, at www.gatesheadhousing.co.uk or through Gateshead Council’s website

• To report a pest control or infestation problem e-mail pestcontrol@gateshead.gov.uk

• By phone to Environmental Health and Trading Standards on: 0191 433 3131 (Hours of Service: 8.30am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am - 4.30pm on Fridays)

• In person to any housing office, Gateshead Council Gateshead@ customer service points, or to Development and Enterprise recepttion at Gateshead Civic Centre

• Out of hours emergency, by telephoning 0191 477 0844.

What service does the Pest Control Team provide?

The Pest Control Service will tackle pests considered to be a risk to public health including rats, house mice, bedbugs, cockroaches and fleas.

A service is also provided to control pests that may become a nuisance in houses such as a wide range of beetles, ants, silverfish and wasps.

The Pest Control Team aims to contact you within two working days of your request being received.

The service is provided free of charge to The Gateshead Housing Company tenants

Is a Pest Control Service Available when Gateshead Council and The Gateshead Housing Company's offices are shut?

If you have a pest control emergency, then you can contact Gateshead Council's Emergency Telephone Information Service on 0191 477 0844 and they will contact the Pest Control Officer.

Out of hours, the Pest Control Officers offer a voluntary service for emergencies and will help if they can.

Examples of Pest Control emergencies are:

• Rats in a habitable room of a house

• A wasp’s nest in a habitable room of a house or preventing access to a house

• A honeybee swarm in a house.

In assessing the seriousness of an infestation the Pest Control Team will consider the impact of the infestation on the occupier and other residents nearby.

There are three levels of response by the Pest Control Team

Level 1 - where pests are considered a major nuisance or serious health risk for example:

• Rats in houses
• Bed bugs
• Honey bee swarms.

The Pest Control Team will respond to reports within two working days.

Level 2 - where pests are regarded as a serious nuisance or health risk but not an emergency including:

• Rats on land or in non domestic buildings
• Mice
• Fleas (Treatment is usually done in the morning to allow the property to dry out through the day)
• Cockroaches
• Flies (significant infestation of domestic dwellings)

The Pest Control Team will respond to reports within five working days.
With Rat and Mice infestations the Pest Control Team might require a number of visits to solve the problem. Insect infestations can usually be dealt with in a single visit.

Level 3 - where pests are regarded as a nuisance but are not a risk to health including:

• Ants in your home
• Beetles
• Grey Squirrels
• Wasps
• Slugs and snails
• Woodlice
• Spiders.

The Pest Control Team will respond to reports within ten working days.

Some pests are not a danger to health but the Pest Control Team will provide advice and support to hep solve the problem for example:

• Ants
• Bees
• Silverfish
• Woodlice
• Slugs
• Feral cats.

Some species are protected by law and Gateshead Council cannot take action but will offer advice.
 These include:

• Bats
• Badgers
• Bees
• Water voles
• Red squirrels
• Most bird species (including feral pigeons).

Some animals may cause nuisance to householders or residents but are not subject to regulation and the Pest Control Team will take no action, for example:

• Foxes and Moles 
• Chickens:  Where residents have concerns, the RSPCA will be called upon to assess the situation. Telephone 08705 555 999
• Dogs: If abandoned or roaming the streets the council's Dog Warden Service will attend.

If living at a tenanted property Tenancy Enforcement action will be considered.

Telephone 0191 433 3131 or e-mail dogwarden@gateshead.gov.uk

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