Day In the Life of a Pest Controller

In this blog I’ll be summarising what our typical workday looks like, walking through the variety of jobs we get up to throughout the day. Trying to summarise one day into a blog has proved to be a hard task as no two days are ever the same in our trade!

It is good practice to start the day bright and early, as at some point in the day you will be running around like a maniac trying to keep up with the appointment schedule you made the day before. That brings us to the first thing on the to do list for the day:

Organise the diary and equipment: This is essential practice each morning as no two day is the same in our role. We need to check which types of pests we will be dealing with, the location of our jobs, ensuring they are in a geological order to help us get round efficiently and lastly pack ALL the equipment needed for the day as well as anything else you can fit in the vehicle- who knows what jobs might be called upon throughout the day. Typically, the essentials will include; gloves, rodent traps, several baits, ladder, torch, wasp lance (season dependant) coat & phone/diary.

New rat job: At a new rat job, the standard is to speak to the client and find out what is really going on (is it really rats? Where are they getting access? Food sources around? etc), Following a short investigation, we decide the best course of action to deal with the infestation, if in lofts this will almost always be setting traps, for outside this will always be setting bait boxes around strategically. Once all set up a follow up visit is arranged usually within a weeks’ time to check the progress and next course of action.

Contract visits: A contract visit is usually monthly and involves checking and surveying activity on the premises within the last month. We do this by checking the bait boxes we have placed around the site (which can be found on a site map, which we produce) as well as speaking to clients and dealing with any active problems. These contracts typically include schools & businesses. As we deal with these sites on a regular basis, we usually find there are no major problems, and each visit is a routine check-up.

Mice follow up: Mice are dealt with through trapping, so a follow up will consist of checking the traps and resetting based on the success of the traps and activity since the last visit (fresh droppings, reported sightings). Again, if suspected the job isn’t finished a follow up visit is scheduled again.

Insect survey: Perhaps a more specialised job within the trade. This require an eye for detail and is where our knowledge and expertise come into play. We have a variety of treatment options for dealing with insects. Let’s say on this job we identified a trail of ants that had been causing the customer a problem, then we would opt for a gel treatment option. Treatment options will vary from insect to insect.

New mole job: Typically, during the wetter, colder months, you will be inundated with mole jobs, a mole follow up will involve checking the traps you have set previously and if lucky you can wrap the job up. If not, so lucky you spend a bit more time resetting the traps and scheduling an appointment for a few days’ time.

To summarise, ‘no day ever being the same ‘is very much true in our roles and this is just a snippet of what one day could theoretically look like, although a normal day never goes exactly to plan. Ensuring we set out for the day prepared for any job/challenge is key and helps us help all our clients as quickly and effectively as possible.

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