Pest Control near you

Government guidance states that all bat species, their breeding sites and resting places are fully protected by law as European protected species. The offences include deliberately killing or injuring bats, damaging or destroying a breeding or resting place, obstructing access to a place of shelter, and intentionally or recklessly disturbing a bat while it is in a structure or place of shelter or protection. Guidance specifically names roof repairs, loft conversions, tree removal, repointing, external lighting near roosts and pesticide use among the activities that can harm bats. Conviction can bring imprisonment of up to 6 months and an unlimited fine.

That is why a loft or roof void is not a space a technician should simply fog. Official guidance on using pest control products and timber treatments in or near bat roosts says to carry out a thorough search for any signs of bats, such as fresh bat droppings, before applying chemicals, that treatments are usually best applied between autumn and spring, and that you should check the published lists of insecticides and timber treatments and use products as directed on the packaging. Householders are advised to contact the bat advice helpline before using a chemical product in or near a bat roost.

The licensing body depends on where you live, and this is one claim that cannot be generalised across the UK. Natural England issues bat licences in England. In Wales, Natural Resources Wales states that all bat species are protected including their breeding sites and resting places, and that a licence is needed where work affecting them cannot avoid disturbing bats or damaging roosts; it notes narrow exceptions for tending a disabled bat, killing a seriously injured bat and removing a trapped bat from the living area of a house. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, guidance from the environment agencies says you must apply to NatureScot or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency respectively before carrying out an activity likely to disturb a protected species. In Northern Ireland the protection comes through the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995.

Homeowners often assume that live-trapping an animal and releasing it in nearby woodland is the humane, uncontroversial option. For grey squirrels in Britain it is the opposite. Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to release or allow to escape into the wild any animal included in Part I of Schedule 9, and Schedule 9 Part I lists the grey squirrel by name, alongside animals such as the American mink and the black rat. A pest controller who offers to catch and relocate a grey squirrel is offering something the law does not permit, and you should ask directly how any trapped animal will be dealt with.

Glue boards have also changed. Under the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022, a person who sets a glue trap in England for the purpose of catching a rodent commits an offence, unless the trap is set under and in accordance with the terms of a glue trap licence. Government guidance on pest control at home likewise lists glue traps designed to catch rodents among the methods you must not use, along with self-locking snares and bows and crossbows. If a contractor proposes glue boards in a domestic property in England, ask to see the licence.

A proper job starts with an inspection that identifies the species and finds the entry points and harbourage, because the treatment for mice differs from the treatment for rats, and bed bug work is a different discipline again. The technician should explain what they propose, what you need to do to prepare, how long you and any pets must stay out of treated areas, and when they will return.

Follow-up is not optional for rodent work: bait has to be checked and removed, and uneaten material should not be left in place indefinitely. Proofing is what makes the result stick, and it is usually a separate piece of work: sealing gaps around pipe entries, fitting bristle strips or brushes to doors, repairing damaged airbricks with mesh rather than blocking ventilation, and closing the roof-edge gaps that squirrels and birds use.

LokalMatch is built for that first step. You describe the pest problem once, including the property type, where you have seen activity and whether there is loft access, and matched pest control firms covering your postcode contact you directly. The professionals pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not carry out treatments, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend any company, so ask each firm about certification, products and follow-up visits before deciding.

Local authorities have a statutory role with rodents. Section 2 of the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 places a duty on 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, including inspections and enforcing duties on landowners. Under section 4 the authority may serve a notice on an owner or occupier requiring reasonable steps, which can include treatment or structural repairs, within a specified time.

Service levels vary. Government guidance simply says to contact your council to find out whether it provides pest control services to remove pests such as wasps, rats, mice and bedbugs, and notes that using the council's service may involve a fee. Some councils treat rats and mice in domestic properties and little else; others cover a wider range or have withdrawn the service entirely and expect you to use a private firm. It is worth checking your own council's page before assuming either way, particularly if the problem originates on neighbouring land.

There is a reporting duty most homeowners have never heard of. Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 provides that the occupier of any land shall give the local authority notice in writing, forthwith, if it comes to their knowledge that rats or mice are living on or resorting to the land in substantial numbers. It is a light-touch obligation in practice, but it explains why councils want to hear about serious infestations rather than only about complaints.

A wasp nest beside a front door, a bedroom window or a garden seating area is the most common urgent call of the British summer, and it is the one most often made worse by a do-it-yourself attempt. Nests are frequently in roof edges, soffits and lofts, which combines an aggressive insect with working at height, and a partly treated nest produces agitated wasps rather than fewer of them. The same caution applies in reverse: an aerosol emptied into a roof void is exactly the situation the bat roost guidance is written for.

Treat any of the following as reasons to call a professional promptly rather than experimenting: a nest near a door, a path or a play area; anyone in the household with a known sting allergy; rats indoors, particularly where there may be a drainage defect; bed bugs, which rarely respond to consumer products; and any pest activity in a loft where you have not established whether bats are present. If you disturb bats, stop work and take advice before doing anything further, because the protection applies to the roost itself.