What are our responsibilities?

The Environmental Health Division has a responsibility under the Prevention of Damages by Pests Act 1949 to ensure that infestations of Rats and Mice are eradicated. This does not mean that we will carry out the work ourselves, we can however serve a Notice instructing the work to be carried out.

Who is responsible for treatment?

Generally speaking it is either the owner or the occupier of the land who is responsible for ensuring that the necessary treatment is carried out to eradicate any infestation. If you have any doubt please contact Environmental Health.

How do we deal with your request?

When you make a request you will be asked several questions to determine the following:

If you are the owner-occupier - you will be advised of the cost of treatment in the case of residential properties and if you agree an officer will contact you once payment has been made to arrange to survey and treat the infestation.
If you are a tenant of a Council House - Environmental Health will contact your housing office to receive instruction to carry out treatment and then an officer will contact you to arrange to survey and treat the infestation.
If you are an occupier or tenant of a property - since legally it is the property owner's responsibility to treat a vermin infestation we will request their agreement to pay for the cost of the treatment and then an officer will contact you to arrange to survey and treat the infestation. If you do not wish the owner of the property involved then you will be asked to agree to meet the full commercial cost of the treatment before any work is started.

What happens after the survey?

In the case of owner occupiers - if the infestation is confirmed to your own property you will be asked for payment and then treatment will start.
If you are the occupier or private tenant - if an infestation is discovered and we have received the payment we will start the treatment.What if my request is about wasps or other insects?
If you are an owner-occupier and the infestation is on your own property you will be advised of the cost of treatment in the case of residential properties and if you agree an officer will contact you once payment has been made to arrange to survey and treat the infestation.
If you are a tenant of a Council property Environmental Health will contact your housing office to receive instruction to carry out treatment and then an officer will contact you to arrange to survey and treat the infestation.
If you are an occupier or tenant of a property - we will request the agreement of the owner of the property to pay for the cost of the treatment and then an officer will contact you to arrange to survey and treat the infestation. If you do not wish the owner of the property involved you will be asked to agree to meet the cost of the treatment before any work is started

It should be noted that treatment will only be carried out on nests that are accessible from ground level.

What if my problem is something else?

Environmental Health does not deal with all pests - squirrels, birds, seagulls, rabbits, moles, to name a few. If you contact a private pest control contractor they may be able to help. Please see below for some information on commonly reported pests:

Bats - we pass the request to the Scottish Natural Heritage, as bats are a protected species. More information can be obtained from www.snh.gov.uk.
Bedbugs Guidance - Bedbugs Guidance (PDF) [414KB]
Advice on Gull Problem - Advice on Gull Problem (PDF) [53KB]
Fox Facts - Fox Facts (PDF) [148KB]
Bird Feeding and Vermin - Bird Feeding and Vermin (PDF) [109KB]
Noise from Cockerels - Noise from Cockerels (PDF) [140KB]

How much will I be charged?

Current charges can be found here - Fees and charges - South Ayrshire Council (south-ayrshire.gov.uk)