Category: CSS Pest News

CSS Pest Services are deligthed to announce that they have expanded the Board of Directors with 2 appointments.

CSS Pest Services are delighted to announce that they have expanded the Board of Directors with the appointment of Nicky Palin as Operations Director and Claire Storrow as Company Secretary/Director.

Managing Director,  Jason Cholerton said of the appointments “Both are invaluable members of the team and throughout their career they have demonstrated great strength and leadership to our business, and I am delighted to see them both joining the board and driving the company forward”

Nicky and Claire’s promotion highlights the possibilities for ambitious team members who are keen to progress their careers and play a strong role in the companies continued success. Both Claire and Nicky joined CSS Pest Services at the very early stages of the CSS journey, and their progression is testament to their hard work and dedication alongside the company’s culture of personal and professional development.

The expansion of the board is another indication of the commitment CSS Pest Services has to growing the business significantly over the coming years. Having experienced rapid growth in this competitive market; there is a clear to desire to keep that level of growth moving forward by continuing our strong collaborative partnership with our customers.

Jason added “Our staff development over the next few years will be key to our success and meeting our key objectives. It’s a very exciting time for the business and a great opportunity for all to develop along with the company”

Today CSS Pest Services Limited announces the acquisition of Eco Pest & Environmental Services, a company who provides commercial Pest and Environmental services to an array of different industry types throughout the Midlands, Bradford and Hull, which specialise in Pest management for the food packaging and manufacturing industry.

The acquisition was finalised on the 11^th May 2020 and comes as the 4^th acquisition for CSS Pest Services.

We feel that this acquisition will further demonstrate to our employees that we are committed to continuous growth and that Eco Pest & Environmental services will help to strengthen its position as a leading and full-service Pest Management organisation.

There will not be any immediate restructuring or zone changes and we appreciate all of our employees’ continued cooperation as we work through this transition and roll out.

Yours Sincerely

Jason P Cholerton cspc iosh

Technical Director

CSS Pest Services and British Pest Control Association (BPCA) are keeping a watching brief on pest issues after a survey revealed a significant spike in rat and mice activity in the Covid-19 pandemic.

51% of pest professionals polled by BPCA have reported an increase in rat activity, while 41% reported an increase in mice activity during the timeline of restrictions.

According to BPCA, empty buildings, deserted streets and reduced footfall provide an ideal opportunity for rodents to thrive across the UK, with rats and mice seemingly becoming bolder, braver and more innovative in finding food and shelter in the shutdown.

Natalie Bungay, BPCA Technical Officer, said:

“We’ve had reports of rats and mice infesting empty buildings and it seems their lifestyle patterns are changing.

Rats in particular are also becoming more visible in areas of population.

With less footfall across cities and towns there is less associated food waste being left in bins and on the floor.

As a result, rat populations are likely to move further afield to satisfy their need for a food source and this, in turn, is likely to cause more sightings.

By nature, rats will also try to avoid humans directly and so, with less of us walking the streets, they may be getting a little bolder and possibly be seen in areas they normally wouldn’t.

Members of the BPCA are working behind the scenes to ensure the situation is managed.

Natalie added:

In these unprecedented times, we need to ensure that effective pest management is implemented.

During the shutdown, as designated key workers, the professional pest management sector is working hard to protect homes, as well as key areas including healthcare environments such as hospitals, the food manufacturing industry, and farms too.

Empty buildings also need to be managed.

Rodents and many other pests carry and transmit diseases and can breed at an alarming rate if left unattended.

They contaminate food, ruin stock and can even cause fires and floods with their gnawing

Pro-active pest management is the only way we can manage the risks to public health and safety.

CSS Pest Services are BPCA full members are fully trained, qualified and audited to the British Standard in Pest Management BS EN 16636.

CSS Pest Services, identified a small colony, initially thought to contain up to 30 termites, during a routine inspection at one of our customer premises.

After seeking confirmation from our entomologist, the termites were identified as Kalotermitidae, more commonly known as ‘Drywood Termite’

After notifying the non-native species secretariat, Jason Cholerton, Director of CSS Pest Services said:

Our Accredited Pest Management Technician – Dan Lucas, noticed timber supports in reptile housing had been gnawed. He brought a sample of insects back to our local office and they were later confirmed as dry wood termites.

We think they might have been brought in via timber that was imported about a year ago as that’s how long we think they’ve been active for.

The client later confirmed that the timber had been in tanks for 18 months and had been purchased from a UK timber merchant, who had also been notified.

With a plentiful supply of suitable wood, alongside consistent warm temperatures of between 24 and 26°C, the colony was able to develop.

However, despite concerns over damage to timber outside of the reptile housing, it was also confirmed termite activity was confined to the reptile housing.

Jason explained the treatment:

After rehoming the reptiles, bedding was destroyed and the timber from within the reptile housing was incinerated.

Given that reptiles are present, we decided to recommend a non-chemical treatment, with monitoring visits each month.

Termite Control

Clive Boase of The Pest Management Consultancy (BPCA Consultant Member) reported:

Termites are common and very important pests in warmer parts of the world, where they can cause extensive damage to structural timber.

For example, in south-west France termites are widespread and there are regulations in place to protect buildings from infestation.

These termites have extended their range northwards, and are now established in Paris.

In the UK they are rare introductions, typically in imported goods.

The only colony known to have become established in the UK was found in and around a house in south Devon in the 1990s, and took years of work by government agencies before it was believed to have been eliminated.

Most termite species live in underground nests. They feed on dead wood, so worker termites forage out from the nest into dead trees, stacks of firewood, but also into buildings.

They excavate structural timber from the inside, leaving a thin skin of undamaged wood hiding the damage.

Termites are good at remaining hidden.

Signs of infestation in buildings would be the discovery of damaged timber (this could be confused with beetle damage), small mud tubes the diameter of a pencil constructed on the surface of walls etc through which the termites travel undercover from the ground to reach wood, or finding the insects themselves.

The worker termites are usually pale-coloured, soft-bodied, ant-like insects, while the sexual stages are winged and swarm out of the nest when conditions are right.

Termite Trivia 

Termite workers generate vibrations when biting their wood food.
The dominant resonant frequency of these vibrations is related to the size of the wood.

The termites can perceive these vibration signals and use them to assess the size of the wood.

Termites also appear to be able to determine the source of the vibrationsignals, and use them to make foraging decisions and development and reproduction decisions based on this information.

Pest management has been confirmed as an essential sector during the Covid-19 pandemic by George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

According to Defra, pest management is covered in the key worker list under the “food and necessary goods” section, specifically concerning hygiene.

This confirmation means that pest management professionals in England can continue to send their children to school during the pandemic. The Northern Ireland government has already confirmed pest management is an essential service.

This also likely means that if the UK was to go into further lockdown measures, pest management companies would be able to continue to protect the nation.

While BPCA has already confirmed that pest management workers could continue to provide essential services (see: Pest professionals: continue to go to work if it’s safe, says Gove to BPCA) – this is the first time that a government official explicitly acknowledges pest management to be on the list of key workers.

The news comes after the sector has lobbied for confirmation that pest management appears on the list – including BPCA and CEPA.

We want to thank everyone that has taken the time to write to their MPs on the subject. It’s taken a substantial collaborative effort for our relatively small sector to get the ear of the UK government.

Remember to stay safe

Although Pest Management have been confirmed as key workers, we still have a duty to our staff and clients to conduct our work safely.

Key worker status gives us the recognition our sector deserves. However, our status comes with a responsibility to maintain the highest professional standards.

Stay safe.

Pest control and pest management remains critical to public health and safety across all sectors of service and industry. Ensuring you are pest free once the lock down is lifted is possible by keeping your pest prevention programme in place if you have one, or by implementing one as soon as possible.

A short fall in income may give consideration for pest control to be a non-essential service and a way to cut back on expenses. However, in reality pest management services are actually a low cost service when compared to the cost of eradication should it be necessary when the curfew is lifted.

It may be difficult to get access to properties once they are moth balled, but every effort should be made to allow this to happen. While properties remain empty there is a greater risk of pest activity. Without people being present there is a more likely risk of a number of pest species becoming established.

Rodents, flies and many other pests carry and transmit diseases, some of which can be fatal. They contaminate food, ruin stock, cause fires and floods, plus impact on your reputation. While properties remain shut and nobody visiting regularly, the likelihood of pest activity increases rather than decreases.

Never has there been a time when routine pest surveillance has been so important in protecting public health and minimising the risks of pest activity.

As your pest management company we can spot early signs of any pests and will be able to take action to reduce the likelihood of infestations occurring. We can continue to provide this essential service while mitigating the risks posed by Coronavirus (Covid 19) wherever possible.

Our priorities are the wellbeing of our customers and staff, and we are writing to update you on the Coronavirus Covid 19 situation, from the perspective of Pests!

The public health risk from pest infestations presents a serious risk to people’s health, particularly when our immune systems are already vulnerable to attack. The last thing the UK needs now, more than ever is pest infestations that will compromise the food chain including the health and wellbeing of its staff. It is critically important therefore to continue to undertake pest control inspections and treatments.

We would like to reassure our customers that we are taking all necessary steps to mitigate any disruption to the delivery of our critical service, which at present we continue to operate as near a normal service as possible.

These are however extraordinary times and advice is changing daily. We would like to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to ensure we maintain service and continue to keep you and your premises, safe from pests.

Our Service team check themselves and family daily, before starting work, for any signs and symptoms of Coronavirus and our policy is to follow government advice on self-isolation. We have also provided all our Service team with a self screening form to complete should you require it.

ALL Service team members are washing their hands between every call and regularly wiping touch points in company vehicles with alcohol wipes.

ALL Service team members will also be wearing disposable gloves while conducting your inspection/treatment. These are to be disposed of after each inspection/treatment.

ALL Service team members are compliant with Social distancing measures at a minimum of 2 metres apart.

As part of our risk assessment, if we attend premises where people are self-isolating, we will not undertake treatment, to avoid risk to our team members and the risk of onward transmission. We will however provide the necessary equipment and advice to assist them, which may consider the use of wearing face masks and safety goggles, which are permanent items that are used daily by ALL Service team members for the control of disease by pests and for the protection against regularly used pesticides.

We are also fully equipped to undertake disinfection treatments against Coronavirus in workplace premises, using approved chemicals and qualified, fully trained technicians.

Pest management is now covered in the government’s key worker list, under the “food and necessary goods” section, specifically concerning hygiene.

The decision comes after lobbying by the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) and European Pest Management Solutions Professional Association (known as CEPA), who have both urged the government to include their industry.

We would take this opportunity to thank you for your custom and sincerely hope that you and yours are not adversely affected.

CSS Pest are committed to the following core values: