Tuesday 7 June 2011

Wasps - why not use the council?

The wasp season has started.

At this time of year, we get quite a few calls from people who have found a wasp nest in the home or garden. We always try to treat any reported nests on the day we receive the call, and our service is guaranteed.

The local council seem to be the first port of call for many people when they find a wasp nest. Most councils provide a pest control service; but there are several reasons why they may not be the best bet for a good, fast service.

The first reason is that wasps are considered a 'nuisance pest' as opposed to a public health issue. Because of that, many local authorities (especially in these austere times) charge a high price for this service. This enables them to offset the cost of subsidised treatments for public health pests (like rats and mice).

The second reason is that because they are considered the first port of call for many people, they are very busy. In the peak of the wasp season the waiting list usually extends to several weeks: as far as they are concerned the wasp nest is not life threatening, so therefore you can wait.

The third reason is that they will most likely want to call during office hours. That's fine for them, but what about you?

Lets just look at the alternative service that we offer.

You call us when you find a nest. Don't forget; we answer the phone whenever you ring, even if that is in the evening or on the weekend. The only time we don't answer the phone is if we are already talking to someone else. If that happens, either leave a message and we'll call you back as soon as we can, or try again in ten minutes.

OK, so we've taken your call. We will attend your property as quickly as we can; usually on the same day. As you will be told on the phone; we always call within half an hour of visiting you, this is because we never know how long each job will take, so are unable to give an accurate appointment at the time of the call.

What happens when we visit? Well, it's a fairly straight forward process. A risk assessment is carried out, and you are given a copy of it along with some basic information about wasps and the treatment. The technician will then put on some PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), usually a bee-suit and some leather gloves.

The treatment itself takes a few minutes. Dust is injected into the entrance of the wasp nest using specialist high pressure equipment. The wasps will then die off over the next hour or two.

Sounds simple doesn't it?

Well yes, for an experienced and trained technician it is a fairly simple task.

So how much does it cost?

Well, we charge £40 (+vat) for the first nest, and £10(+vat) for each additional nest treated at the same time.

For more information, please look at our main website:

www.westcountrypests.biz

or call:

0800 612 8430

For other parts of the UK, take a look at this website:

http://www.wasp-control.co.uk/

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