Acclaim Environmental’s Dan Gaskin explains why he had to leave the Board of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA). It was a tough decision made in order to concentrate on delivering the best pest control service to our customers. As we now focus in the social care sector and offer bedbug heat treatment, bedbug sniffer dog searches amongst many other services, it felt right to ensure that both the BPCA and Acclaim Environmental’s pest control experts got the support they both deserve. As Which? Trusted Traders and Checkatrade members, we have to put our customers first. As ever, Dan voices his opinions about the industry…check it out below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmCs4Yy0aBM
https://youtu.be/TNrAS4JItj4
Its such a relief to finally have some sunny weather after the last few months of winter! We’re all desperate to get outside and enjoy the Great British outdoors. Lots of us will get the barbecue flashed up and be enjoying beer gardens and picnics in the sun – who cares about a wasp nest? But, whilst we’ve been dreaming about the warmer spring weather, wasps and other insects have also been emerging. Bees, bumblebees, hornets and wasp nests have all been preparing for the warmer weather.
May is the traditional month for calls about honey bee swarms. These can sometimes be confused for wasps but trust us, they’re honey bees. Wasps never swarm. The air will suddenly fill with insects and you will get a large medicine ball-sized clump of insects on a wall or hanging on a tree. It is the classic swarm of bees. All the insects just cling together. Don’t worry though, honey bees are usually quite relaxed when they swarm so they won’t normally attack. Its extremely rare to have to kill a swarm of bees. We normally get them ‘re-hived’ with a beekeeper. Experienced beekeepers often don’t wear gloves when dealing with swarms.
The Wasps are back!
So, compared to a swarm of bees, a wasp nest is a different kettle of fish. Its a structure made of paper mache. The wasps live inside it. A swarm of bees is, as we’ve said, just a lot of bees together. This week we’ve started helping and advising people with early wasp problems and even early stage wasp nests being found in lofts! This is the time of year when wasp queens are coming out of hibernation and looking for good places to build their nests. In a couple of months time they’ll have powerful and established colonies.
Wasp Nest – What to look out for
There are many different wasps in the UK but the main species identified as the seasonal public health pests are:
Tree Wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris)
Common Wasp (Vespula Vulgaris)
German Wasp (Vespula Germanica)
They all have differing markings but we reckon that if you’re being chased by one, you won’t be hanging around to look at its facial markings and make a positive identification.
Wasps usually establish a nest in April time and because they’re so well camouflaged or choose a quiet area, most colonies won’t get noticed for a month or so. We often have people find them in August and swear blind that the wasps nest wasn’t there a week ago. Unfortunately it was – they just didn’t notice it. Seriously, why would they? Besides, wasp nests are so well camouflaged. Who looks for a wasp nest? It can be a very unwelcome surprise to go into the garden in June/July/August time to prune a shrub and then find yourself sprinting down the garden to avoid getting stung! They can be anywhere- even under the ground.
Not all Wasp Nests need Removing…
Give wasps a very wide berth and they’ll not threaten you. Unfortunately a wasp nest in a normal suburban garden, a beer garden or near a footpath in a country park may be too close for comfort and pose a risk of stinging. The problem is that wasps are hunters and, compared to bees, naturally aggressive. So, if they feel that you’re getting a bit too close, they’re going to come and have a go. Whether its Leicester City centre or a pretty Northamptonshire village, the wasps will just get on with foraging and if you disturb them…well, you’re going to get stung
If you’re at all unsure about whether you have a wasp nest, give us a call and we’ll come out to assess the situation. We’ll check it out, tell you what the problem is and what your options are. You can then make an informed decision as to what you can do about it. Generally, killing wasps, bees and hornets is the last resort. We will avoid killing anything but sometimes wasp nests and hornets nests need eradicating to protect people and animals. You can always ask us anything on FaceBook
Have you ever wanted cheap pest control? Do you think that pest control is something that is worthwhile or really just a ‘box-ticking exercise’. Just something to keep the auditors happy? If you ‘go cheap’, what is the worst that can happen? Why would anyone ever want to pay more than the absolute bare minimum for pest control? Could cheap pest control harm your business? Could anyone be injured by poor pest control?
Dan talks to you about the pitfalls and possibilities surrounding cheap pest control and why it can harm your business or home. Its not your fault that you don’t know about pest control – that’s the pest control industry’s fault. We want to inform you so that you can make informed decisions about protecting your business or home. The old adage that ‘you get what you pay’ for never rang truer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x4CbayHGRY
If you’d like to comment on the video, please feel free. We love a bit of pest control discussion This is a much misunderstood industry and its his time you learned about what pest control can do for your health, industry, business and bottom line.
If you live in London, Leicester, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Bedford, Luton, The Home Counties, Oxford, or any of the surrounding areas, we’d love to hear about your experiences with pest control. We hope they’re good. We know some might not be so great. We’re striving to bring a great service to the UK and can only do that with honest feedback.
What will cheap pest control cost you?
Years ago, we used to run all of our service vehicles on used vegetable oil. Honestly. No, I’m not making this up. This was all part of a push for greener pest control. It was great while it lasted.
Unfortunately, the demand for greener pest control vehicles is not widespread. In fact, its non-existent. So, eventually the only vans that we could fit the conversion kits to got very old. This meant that they started to need repairs and increased maintenance which increased customers bills – not to mention the risk of our service vehicles breaking down!! So, that is why we now run modern fuel efficient vehicles which, in the long run, are actually greener than the old vans.
Now, I’m going to tell you about the claims that some make about being green. Most companies in this space focus on the fact that they use chemicals as a last resort which leads them to claim green credentials. Well, that’d be a fair enough claim to make if you only wanted to be accurate about the fact that less chemicals are better for the natural world than more chemicals. However, if you want to stand out and not be another ‘Me Too!!’ company, you need to find a different hook. So, why do I write this?
Because it’s ILLEGAL to do anything else. The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (and as amended 1987) dictates that pest controllers should only use the minimum amount. Companies like Bayer and BASF invest hundreds of millions of pounds in research so when they print the instructions on a bottle of insecticide costing £150, you can be sure that those instructions are accurate – you don’t need to ‘add another spoonful for the pot’. Any pest control company worth their salt only uses the minimum amount of chemical. So, its rather disingenuous to claim that you’re using chemicals as a last resort just to be green. The real reason is because its mandatory Anyway, it keeps costs down to use only the amount that is needed. And you can’t use chemical if no pest is present. I know that sounds obvious but, for some, its needed to be stated.
Kinder Pest Control
A lot of companies will quote IPM or ‘Integrated Pest Management’. This has been around for years. Now I’m all for IPM and think that they should be promoting it. In fact, I intend to blog about just that subject in the future. The thing is that , again, any good pest control company should be doing IPM anyway. Why? Because IPM is common sense. There’s a bit more too it than this but it essentially boils down to:
Tidy up
Proof your property
If 1 and 2 fail, kill the pests – then do 1 and 2 anyway.
Greener pest control means changing our environment in order to avoid having to end the life of pest species. You don’t need to use chemicals if there are no pests to kill in the first place. You also don’t have to employ a pest control company in a diesel-burning van to do it.
Acclaim Environmental are committed to greener pest control because its what is woven into our DNA. Its the standard that all companies should uphold but is too often only remembered during marketing activities.
We cover the whole of Northamptonshire, Northampton, Leicester, Birmingham, Bedford, Milton Keynes and London as well as the surrounding areas.
Pest Control Leicester is a term that we feel we own. For those who don’t know about our company (and frankly, there’s no reason why you should) it may be worth pointing out that Acclaim Environmental was founded by a former police officer from Leicester. Mervyn Gaskin (who also co-founded Merton Cleaning Supplies served Leicester City from the former police station in Charles Street before setting up his pest control company to cover his home city.
In fact, we have some pictures of him somewhere where he was a young police officer tasked with keeping citizens away from a swarm of bees on a lamp post.
Over the years, we have conducted pest control in Leicester and know every part of the city. Its really helped us to lay down a great knowledge of where all the problems are and why they happen. Leicester has wonderful hospitals, universities, transport hubs, industrial zones and many residential areas at all end of the social scale.
A diverse city deserves the best in pest control
We feel very strongly about protecting the diverse population from pests in the city and the surrounding countryside. Whether its rats, mice or bedbugs, our local knowledge is something that we feel makes us first choice for an understanding response. Indeed, some of the companies we serve are some of Leicester’s most famous businesses.
Although we feel that we’re ‘Pest Control Leicester’, we generally go incognito and prefer to discreetly perform pest control for Leicester. We may drive past you on your way to work or as you walk through the city. You’ll probably not notice us. We hope you don’t. Our job is to perform pest control in Leicester as efficiently and effectively as possible without causing a fuss.
Thank you for allowing us to look after you and the companies you have in the City of Leicester.
We cover the whole of Leicester and Leicestershire, Northampton, Birmingham, Bedford, Milton Keynes and London as well as the surrounding areas.
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