Pests and vermin in council homes

If you discover rats in your home or garden, in someone else's garden or in any communal area, please contact the Housing Customer Services Team via email: housingcustomerservices@waverley.gov.uk or telephone 01483 523054

They will arrange for a pest control contractor to attend and put down poison. This is a free service for tenants.

Wasps will only be dealt with if the nest or swarm is found inside your home or in communal areas. Please contact the Housing Customer Services Team via email: housingcustomerservices@waverley.gov.uk or telephone 01483 523054

If you have a swarm of bees sometimes a local bee keeper will collect them. You can find more information on bees on the British Beekeepers Association website, where there is also a search tool to locate a local Bee Keeper by postcode. 

If you discover mice in the communal areas of flats - for instance in halls, loft areas, landings, stairways or cupboard areas, they should be reported to the Environmental Health Team via email: environmentalhealth@waverley.gov.uk. They can arrange for specialist contractors to deal with them free of charge.

If we find that a tenant has caused the mice to infest a communal area, we will charge them for the cost of dealing with the problem.

If you find ants, woodlice or mice inside your home, you will have to deal with them yourself. You can get advice from our Environmental Health Team, but you must pay for any treatment they carry out. You can also visit your local pet shop and buy a product to get rid of the problem.

We will get rid of fleas, bedbugs and cockroaches for you but only if you discover and report them within four weeks of the start of your tenancy. If removing them is your responsibility, we can do it for you at a cost. If you receive benefits, we will reduce the charge.

For more information please visit Pest Control Service

If you are elderly or disabled and you require support with any of the steps described above, contact your Housing Officer on 01483 523054. 

If you live in a Senior Living scheme, you can contact your Senior Living Officer to receive support with pest control issues.