Case Study 1: Mouse-Proofing
A client from Catford, who lives with her family on the top-floor of a converted Victorian terraced house, was experiencing a high level of infestation by mice. The family were surrounded by three properties which were also highly infested. Over the years, our client had relied on various treatments, all with only short term success.
Firstly, we performed a thorough inspection of all the infested properties. The ground floor flat, occupied by two elderly tenants, was cluttered, messy and badly in need of repair. The next property was a family house, the kitchen was in need of repair and mouse-droppings were evident throughout. The tenants in this house refused to admit they had a problem with mice, despite the droppings, however, still allowed us to put a few baits down. On the other side, the tenants refused any help, even though they wouldn’t have to foot the bill.
After solving, or attempting to solve, the mouse-infestation in the surrounding properties, we thoroughly baited and proofed throughout the top-floor of the Victorian terraced house. We left instructions with our client to monitor the poison-level and to call us before the poison was depleted. She was to contact us if they continued to see mice or at the first sight of a mouse-droppings, as this would clearly indicate that some gaps still needed attention.
After a couple of months, we returned to the client in order to replenish her mouse-poison. We then had to attend a second time as she had seen mouse-droppings in her bedroom. After further inspection, we found that one of the floor-boards had broken and that the carpet had pulled away from under the skirting boards. We went back to the client’s premises and solved the problem.
I am glad to report that our client hasn’t had a need to use us ever since this incident. She is now a strong advocate for our services and doesn’t miss an opportunity to promote us within the neighbourhood watch group or among her acquaintances.
What the client had to say…
“Finding Inoculand was a real blessing for me. The service was amazing, so effective and really cheap!! I’d had mice problem for such a long time although I had done everything to get rid of them. The best known companies would only come twice to lay the poison and that’s it. Mice always return…..
On top of a mice problem I also got fleas infestation after looking after a kitten for couple of weeks. I was so desperate and on the verge and didn’t know what to do….
The guy from Inoculand was so knowledgeable and dedicated to help us. He mice-proofed our flat (this took hours and it’s guaranteed for 6 months), laid poison in my (and my neighbours’) places and treated the fleas problem.
I recommend him 100% and I wish I had found him sooner…..”
Apr. 2010
Case Study 2: Rat Infestation
Acting on a referral, a Hackney take-away shop contacted us on a Sunday to request an emergency visit as rats had been running out in front of the customers. We found that the shop was surrounded by a rail network track, overgrown vegetation, a builder’s yard and debris of all sorts.
On inspection, the state of the take-away was terrible, with active rat-holes and rat-droppings everywhere. That very same night, we carried out the proofing and baited for rat activity in order to solve the problem. Within days, the bait was gone and the rats had chewed new holes around the proofing. Under our three month agreement, we continued to visit in order to bait and improve /repair the proofing.
The rat population is still very active on the bait that is outside the premises, but the proofing has now been completed and rats do not have any access to the inside of the building.
We’re still expecting to revisit the take-away shop on a regular basis in order to repair the proofing, as we don’t think that the rat population will ever completely leave the area. But now, the shop-staff, and the client, will be able to enjoy a pest-free environment.
Case Study 3: Pest Control Contract
A chain of shops were unhappy with their pest control provider as they continued to suffer from extensive mice activity at their warehouse and shop units that were within train stations. All of the staff were very much involved in cleaning relentlessly and checking stock for potential damage. The business was losing stock, as well as may hours of labour, to mice activity.
The warehouse was located next to a builder, who had no incentive to organise pest control. When we first got involved, we saw that the former pest control company had laid down a huge number of baits within the living space of the building and that there were continuous signs of mouse-activity, despite the mice eating some of the bait.
We first implemented the proofing in the most affected area, clearing out all of the unsightly bait-boxes and relocating them directly within the void space. We then moved on to the next areas, and worked our way through, one area at a time. During the course of the contract, we can report that there have been no more sightings or mouse-droppings in the sensitive areas that have been proofed.
The mice are still eating the poison relentlessly inside the void space, but the mice are not able to come within the warehouse premises and there is no more loss of stock.
In the train stations, mice are able to find food easily from food discarded by travellers. With a full belly, it’s difficult to entice them into eating bait. Also, the shops are often quite open plan, and mice are able to enter without trouble.
By using “peanut butter like bait”, contact gel where appropriate, and also carrying out proofing, we’ve managed to eradicate the problem in two units, the third unit is being refurbished soon.
Case Study 4: Bed Bug Infestation
A large 7-bedroom council house in Newington had experienced ongoing bed bug activity for years. The landlord provided a free pest control service that, after 2 years of sporadic treatment, had failed to deliver long-term results. Many bedrooms had 2 or more beds and most were heavily infested.
We explained that bed bugs have a life cycle that needs to be taken into account, and it was evident that the tenants were spreading the problem from one room to the next by moving contaminated items between the areas.
We gave our clients a clear set of instructions to follow during the treatment:
- Ensure that all items belonging to a room stay in that particular room, until you are confident that the infestation is over. You will thereby limit contaminating further rooms and lessen the risk of re-infestation. Particular items include beds, mattresses, items stored under the beds, suitcases, picture frames above beds and bedding.
- If you must move bedding, or other contaminated items, throughout the house, ensure that these items are kept in a sealed bag.
- All of the sleeping stations need to be slept in, as people act as bait. The bed bugs will move over the sprayed areas in order to bite the clients, they will thus be exposed to the poison and, later, the bed bugs will die. In effect, the bed bug population will be depleted and, after three weeks, completely eradicated.
- Only time will tell if the treatment has been successful. Three weeks with no activity is a strong indicator that the problem is over.
- Any bed bug activity following the treatment should be reported without delay, and we will set an appropriate course of action.
We carried out two visits at two-week intervals, spraying all bedrooms and communal areas, beds, mattresses, bedside furniture, floors and walls.
After a couple of months, our clients suspected activity in two of their rooms. These rooms received another two courses of treatment, just to be on the safe side, with only a marginal extra charge. It is our belief that in the case of bed bugs, it’s far better to over-treat, rather than under-treat, an infestation.
