PEOPLE moving from big cities are bringing bedbugs to Colchester, it has been claimed.
Pest controllers at Colchester Council made 183 visits to 32 homes in the city which were reported in the 12 months to October this year.
The figures were shared by the councillor responsible for communities, Natalie Sommers, at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday where recommendations to increase the cost of several council-run services, including pest control, were discussed.
Greenstead councillor Julie Young said she was concerned by proposals to increase the cost of bedbug treatment to £315, up 46 per cent on the current charge of £215.
“A charge of £315 for that seems very high,” she said. “Additionally, for benefit recipients, £158 for bedbug charges seems a very large amount for people that are on low incomes to find.”
Ms Sommers suggested an increased resistance to chemicals on pests like bedbugs means it is taking far longer to eradicate infestations.
“The original charges for bedbugs are for an initial visit plus three follow-up visits; it’s now taking six,” she responded.
“Commercially this would cost over £1,000. I really want to keep the costs as low as possible, but we do have to increase them by quite a bit because of the sheer amount [of visits].”
Colchester-based pest control expert Andy Hoare, however, disagrees that bedbugs have developed a resistance to pesticides and suggested repeated callouts are because people are failing to follow aftercare advice correctly.
He said: “The reason people are having to have treatments done again is because they’re not following the advice given to them, like to not do any hoovering for three weeks, and not because of the chemicals used.
“I haven’t noticed an increased resistance and I’ve used the same products I’ve always used but I’ve gone back to jobs where they’ve not followed the aftercare advice I’ve given.”
He added he feels any increase in callouts relating to bed bugs in the city has come following an increase in people moving from big cities like London to Colchester.
The proposals to increase pest control charges will now be debated by councillors at a full council meeting.
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