PEST CONRTOL PREVENTING INVASIVE ISSUES Andrew Hollyer, Sales and Marketing Director at external maintenance and
commercial landscaping company, Ground Control, reflects on the launch of its Pest Control and Auditing solution and provides a unique insight into the effect of invasive species.
The unrelenting march of new build homes and other construction projects continues apace. In 2015 alone, 156,140 new homes were registered across the UK; there were an astonishing 75% more new homes registered in 2015 than in 2009.
Why is this important? In the UK, it is well known that towns and villages are already at bursting point, and yet new homes targets are continually rising according to Government figures. The impact of this is that local authorities are looking into increasingly rural areas for new builds; this is where pests such as rodents and invasive species live.
Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in requirements for pest control services from the housing sector, the built environment, retail and education to name a few; this is compounded by the increased pressure on commercial infrastructure. The trend for business parks and distribution centres to locate near motorway access points has pushed the boundaries into areas with potential for increased pest problems. In addition, the upsurge in fast food and availability of leftover food waste has resulted in increased requirements for pest control solutions.
Designed to ensure that facilities managers receive the highest standards at all times, and strictly conforming to the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) regulations and guidelines, our Pest Control and Auditing solution includes regular monitoring and inspections that are conducted independently by our Contract
36 | TOMORROW’S FM
Managers and Mystery Auditors on the latest handheld technology. A USP for us, non-toxic baits are used as standard across the portfolio both internally and externally, to minimise the environmental impact and enable the measurement of pressure points easily and efficiently. This ensures toxic treatments are only applied when problems really exist, protecting both the environment and our wildlife as well as saving money.
“RICS NOW SURVEY FOR JAPANESE
KNOTWEED, IF IT IS
PRESENT, NOT ONLY WILL THE PROPERTY BE DEVALUED BY AROUND 40%, IT
WILL ALSO AFFECT NEIGHBOURING
PROPERTIES’ VALUES.”
We offer a higher frequency of visits than standard pest control organisations, usually around eight per year, due to our ability to provide the service in conjunction with our routine grounds maintenance visits. From a monitoring perspective, we provide a visual inspection of the site, replenishment of bait boxes where required, placement of rodent detectors if needed, electronic live
reporting, especially if toxic bating is required, and a specialist three-visit eradication program for found issues.
In addition, we have created an app, which provides live updates to FM professionals and nominated client contacts, showing them exactly what they are receiving from the service in real time. It enables photographs before, during and after to be taken and recorded by contract managers, notes to be drafted and saved, and tailored reports to be compiled and delivered to suit every customers’ individual requirements. Quick and easy to use, the app was created in- house by our software team based on the need to provide complete transparency to our customers.
INCREASING ISSUES SURROUNDING
INVASIVE SPECIES Alongside pest control, invasive species are also a rising problem. In fact, invasive non-native species are now recognised as the second biggest threat to biodiversity worldwide, which is why it is important that we can distinguish the threats. For example, Japanese Knotweed is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the most invasive species due to its continuous growth (of up to 20 centimetres a day) and extremely difficult nature to remove. It is incredibly detrimental to buildings and land, blocking footpaths, damaging concrete, tarmac and the stability of river banks – hence, a huge threat in the landscaping industry.
Today, invasive species are causing structural damage to the tune of
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