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D French, Hillbans (Vectis) Ltd, Lake, Sandown, Isle of Wight |
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| The problem |
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 In 1992, Manchester City Council was faced with a health problem in the China Town district. This involved infestations of cockroaches and mice which led to complaints from customers of the many food handling establishments and other occupiers within the district. The area consists of a wide mix of multi-storey buildings mainly of Victorian origin, many originally built as warehouse or factories. Over the years these had fallen into disrepair and many had been refurbished. Pest control contractors had periodically carried out spray treatments for the control of the cockroaches, but these had proved inadequate or ineffective, usually treating only the symptoms of the problem rather than the cause. |
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| Identifying the cause |
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 Clearly some drastic action was needed and Manchester City Council's Environmental Health Department moved quickly to set up a Working Party to examine the issues and put forward proposals for a radical change in approach. After conducting a detailed survey of the district, the Working Party put forward various reasons why past measures had not achieved sustainable results. These included:
- Failure of proprietors to maintain adequate hygiene standards.
- Inadequate monitoring of pest activity.
- A tendency to treat only the symptoms rather than the causes.
- The survival rate of self contained populations which did not need to forage for some time after treatment.
- Failure to treat voids, ductwork, etc.
- Surface spray often washed away immediately by cleaning contractors.
- The final proposal from the Working Party was for a new long-term, integrated pest management strategy with the clear objective of eradication.
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| Solution |
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The plan drawn up by the Working Party involved a co-ordinated programme of work covering the whole of the China Town district. This required the co-operation of the owners, occupiers, pest control contractors and manufacturers of pest control products.
Maxforce® had not been used previously by any of the contractors. It was included in the programme after the manufacturer had given training on how to use Maxforce® and following successful trials by the City's Environmental Health Services on Council-owned housing estates and in hospitals and market food stalls. They were now keen to test the insecticide in a challenging commercial setting. |
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| Result |
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The success of the programme was quite dramatic. The strategic objective was to eradicate the cockroaches and this was substantially achieved in a matter of months. It proved the value of the co-ordinated approach to treatment, the efficacy of the insecticides and the expertise of the contractors and close attention to detail.
During the past five years a routine pest control programme has continued throughout the China Town district. This has been carried out by contractors in accordance with a strict treatment regime enforced and monitored by the Council's Environmental Health Division. This has ensured that no repeat of the problems experienced in 1992 has occurred. |
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| Survey |
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- Do staff need training on using and placing Maxforce®?
- What information can be obtained from monitoring traps?
- They confirm that there is a problem.
- They identify harbourages.
- They identify placement points for Maxforce®.
- Is there a shelf life for monitoring traps once used on site?
- Do you need to date and mark monitoring traps?
- What type of area is most likely to harbour cockroaches?
- How much bait do you need for a successful treatment?
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