Lincolnshire councils spent thousands of pounds removing rats, bedbugs, mice and wasps from properties, Freedom of Information figures reveal
Removing pests such as maggots, rats and cockroaches has cost council bosses thousands of pounds.
A freedom of information request submitted by this website has found that four Lincolnshire councils have spent nearly £150,000 on eliminating fleas, wasps and bedbugs from their properties over the last two years.
South Kesteven District Council has forked out the most money over the last two financial years – £73,400 – to remove pests from social rented accommodation while neighbouring South Holland District Council has spent £54,529.68 in removing unwanted creatures from its properties.
Coun Phil Dilks, South Kesteven’s cabinet member for housing and planning, said the costs are ‘robustly managed’.
He said: “Pest control is generally the responsibility of the tenant but in certain circumstances, and to support vulnerable occupants, the council will support with pest control issues, for example at a sheltered scheme.
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“As SKDC conducts pest control only in exceptional circumstances, the associated costs are robustly managed. However, the budget allocation will remain in place to ensure that we provide this vital support where required.”
The council paid for more than 20 visits by a pest controller between January 1 and November 1 last year to remove a variety of pests.
During that period exterminators were called to sites in Bourne to deal with maggots, rats and mice while wasps and rats were needed to be removed from Grantham properties.
But Stamford was the town with the highest number of visits as controllers were called in to tackle cockroaches, rats, wasps, and bedbugs.
The most expensive year for the council was 2022 when it spent £60,200 on bedbug treatments in Stamford properties.
Coun Dilks said: “The costs mentioned are spending on SKDC’s own council properties as a measure to ensure the continuing health and safety of our tenants.”
South Holland spent £19,602.26 between January and November last year to remove rats, mice wasps and fleas from occupied and empty social accommodation along with spending £140 to remove rates from a domestic property.
But the previous year had been expensive for the council when it spent £34,927.42 between January 1 and December 31, 2022, on removing rats, mice, wasps and fleas from social rented accommodation.
Coun Anthony Casson, portfolio holder for public protection, said: "Our council is committed to effective pest management, before we re-let any of our properties, we ensure they are pest free, engaging pest controllers where a problem is identified. We will work with our tenants where a problem is identified in an occupied property to offer advice and support on a case-by-case basis.
“For rat concerns, Healthguard is utilised to assess and bait, addressing evidence of rats entering properties. In areas with an overwhelming rat presence, Healthguard helps identify sources, and relevant feedback is provided to residents.
“Wasp problems are infrequent, and bee incidents have been rare, with only two cases in the past five years. Our proactive approach aims to maintain a pest-free environment for our residents."
Some councils in the county do not provide pest control but Boston Borough and North Kesteven have spent the lowest amounts.
North Kesteven District Council paid out £1,360 to between January and November last year to get rid of pigeons and rats in Lord Street, Sleaford, and a further rat issue in Moor Lane, Martin.
This was a little down on the previous year when the council paid out £1,936 for removing rats from Lord Street in Sleaford and Moor Lane in Martin and Julia Road in Washingborough.
Boston Borough Council spent £2,460.53 on pest control for the period of January 1 to November 1, 2023, to eradicate rats, mice, wasps and fleas. These were removed from ‘open spaces’, Redstone Travellers Site, car parks, St John’s Depot, Central Park, Municipal Buildings and a homeless hostel.
The previous year it had spent £2,777.42 to remove rats, mice and wasps from the Redstone Travellers Site, St John’s Depot, Central Park, car parks and open spaces.