Birmingham pest control services for mice, cockroaches and more ‘suspended’
An update has appeared on the council's website.
Birmingham City Council suspended its pest control services for mice, bedbugs, cockroaches and more amid the disruption caused by the ongoing bins strike.
The council states on its website that it has temporarily suspended all pest control services except for rat treatments, which are currently free of charge.
The Labour-run authority says currently just focusing on rats was done to “prioritise public health” during the waste industrial action, which led to missed bin collections and growing fears over the rodents.
But it means the council is currently not taking bookings on its website for mice, wasps, bedbugs, cockroaches and fleas while it continues to deal with reports of rats free of charge.
The council goes on to tell residents that they can buy their own treatments online or at most hardware stores, adding: “Always follow safety instructions when using pest control products.”
This is just the latest temporary change to Birmingham’s pest control service since the bins strike started back in January amid a dispute between the council and Unite the union.
It was recently at the centre of controversy after the crisis-hit authority’s unprecedented budget in 2024 included plans to introduce new charges for rat treatments – a service which was previously free.
The decision attracted criticism from opposition councillors, with one referring to it as a “rat tax” while another warned of a “golden decade for rats”.
The row even saw Birmingham councillor Sam Forsyth dramatically announce during a full council meeting that she had quit the Labour Party.
Fears over rodents escalated during the height of the all-out bins strike, which left huge heaps of rubbish on street corners and caused misery for Brummies across the city.
The council’s Labour administration took action to clear the backlog of waste after a major incident was declared in spring and introduced numerous measures, including making rat treatments temporarily free of charge.
But councillor Robert Alden, leader of the Conservative Group, urged the council to “go further” and axe the rat charge permanently.
“Labour’s rat tax hurts the least well off in the city the most and should be scrapped,” he said earlier this year.
Sajeela Naseer, director of regulation and enforcement at the council, previously told a council meeting that this particular charge was brought in because the delivery of the free service was costing the authority around £400,000.
“Obviously we’re in a specific financial situation at the moment,” she said at the time. “We followed a lead that has been shown by other local authorities across the country.”
She continued that the council had been consulting on a new operating structure within pest control.
“Whereas last year the pest control service was costing the council £400,000, it will now be of no cost to the council,” she said.
“We accept there are citizens who will no longer have that free service but we have done our best to mitigate against the impacts.”
According to the council’s website, the appointment booking system for the rat treatment service is also currently paused.
“We cannot give treatment timescales,” it adds. “If you report a rat problem, an officer may visit and provide a free poison bait box.”
The bins strike dispute, which has been rumbling on since January, was triggered by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role.
Striking workers have raised concerns about pay while the Labour-run council’s leadership has repeatedly insisted a “fair and reasonable” offer had been made.