Delegates at a conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) will be told this week that a combination of austerity cuts, poor standards of housing and a lack of coordinated government action could be fuelling a national pest explosion.

Commenting, Bob Mayho, CIEH Principal Policy Officer and chair of the National Pest Advisory Panel, said:

“There is evidence that the incidence of pest-borne diseases is on the increase and there are risks that pests could pose a serious public health threat if not properly controlled. Furthermore, there are indications that climatic conditions are changing to enable existing pest populations to survive and reproduce faster than they have in the past but also for new pest species to become established.”

Meanwhile, according to a CIEH survey conducted in 2009, there has been a significant increase in the number of councils no longer providing a pest control service. Since this research was conducted before the current public spending cuts have impacted on local authorities’ services and given the general low priority given to pests, this increase has almost certainly continued.

“Cutting pest control services is extremely short sighted – it diminishes a local authority’s capacity for strategic planning for public health improvement.

“Too many local authorities regard pest control as a treatment response, rather than as a potential public heath threat.

“While it is difficult to give an accurate figure for the annual cost to the UK economy of ill health associated with pests there are proven associations between pest-infested premises and allergies and asthma, while people living in pest infested homes are more likely to suffer from migraine, headaches and depression.

“The presence of pests can lead to a considerable risk to public health, including the spread of pathogens, allergies, bites, psycho/social stress, damage to property and contamination of work surfaces and foodstuffs. These are all good reasons for local authorities to build pest management into their public health and protection planning strategies. This they are much less able to do if the service has been contracted out.

“There is an absence of political will to do anything even to begin to tackle this problem. Pest management involves health, housing, work and the environment and it is often difficult to decide which Government Department or agency should take responsibility for the public policy and the decisive action that is called for.

“A single Government Department with responsibility for pest management measures would definitely help achieve the step change in our public health performance that we need. Time is running out – and its is true pest have never had it so good.”