Merry Christmas from Pest Solutions! 2024 Round Up
Why Choose a Pest Professional? Most of our customers, especially domestic clients, do not plan ahead for what they will do if they experience a pest problem.
Why would they, it’s just not something that many people think about. But when a pest problem occurs there is an urgent need to quickly rectify the issue and any related risks to health & safety. In this rush to find a pest controller, how do you make sure you make the right choice?
A quick google search is the starting point for most but should you just choose the first result that comes up?
I would say no, not all pest controllers or pest control companies are created equal. Making the wrong choice could extend the duration of the issue, extend the exposure to related health risks and ultimately result in a higher overall cost of dealing with the infestation.
So, how do you make the right choice when choosing a pest control company? My advice is to make sure to choose a company that is committed to professionalism. Choosing a professional contractor will not just ensure that the pest activity is dealt with in the quickest and most effective way, It will also ensure that the control measures are carried out with the highest concern for the environment and humane practices.
Choosing a professional pest control company will always provide the best value proposition.
Our team at Pest Solutions are dedicated to professionalism and our business has been recognised in industry awards for this commitment. In addition, we hold accreditation to demonstrate our commitment to the highest levels of training, health and safety, and environmental performance. Call 0800 027 2555 today for friendly advice and help with any pest problems.
Being a professional pest controller is more than just outward appearance. Yes, a pest control technician should be well presented, in a smart company uniform, wearing the correct PPE for the job ensuring that everything is done safely.
Yes, they should be driving a nice clean modern vehicle and take responsible care of the waste that they produce ensuring that their impact on the environment is minimal and they protect non target species from secondary poisoning.
But most of all they should be well trained.
At Pest Solutions, we take great pride in the fact that all of our team are incredibly well trained. This directly ensures that every member of our team is able to provide the best possible service to our customers every time.
Our dedication to having the best trained team possible was confirmed by winning the BPCA “Commitment To Training Award” in 2020 and members of our team winning both the “Young Technician Of the Year” Award and “Technician Of The Year” Award in the 2021 UK National Pest Awards.
Many in the industry consider and will advertise that their technicians are “Fully Trained” in that they have achieved the RSPH Level 2 Award in Pest Management. However, this is the industry’s entry level foundational qualification. A technician must achieve this qualification to be able to operate within an BPCA or NPTA member company in the UK. This makes a joke of the “fully trained” statement. They are not fully trained; they have achieved the bare minimum qualification to be considered a pest controller.
The idea that a pest controller is ever fully trained is a dangerous idea.
With the ever shifting landscape of environmental, animal welfare, and legal considerations a professional operates within their training must be ongoing to allow them to keep up.
Currently, a whopping 79% of technicians working in the Pest Control industry hold no qualifications beyond the Level 2 award, a standard far below what could be considered as professional level.
At Pest Solutions, we ensure that we keep our entire team engaged in ongoing training with our training target for our team set at double the industry minimum requirement.
This year alone has seen a raft of our pest technicians achieve their Level 3 Certificated Advanced Technician award (CAT), already exceeding the certifications held by many so called “Fully Trained” technicians in the industry, and we look forward to supporting them as they look to achieve Level 4 awards in the future.
The CAT exam is designed to determine if a pest technician has the knowledge, quick thinking, and experience required to be successful as a pest control technician, and isn’t that exactly the sort of expert you want on the job if you discover a pest problem in your own home?
The best way to ensure quality and professionalism when hiring someone to deal with your pest problem is to use a pest control company that is a member of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA).
The BPCA is a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to provide a guarantee of professionalism and high standards within an industry where a lack of either can have devastating consequences.
There is currently no legislation that specifies who can and cannot provide pest control services in the UK, although there are strict regulations around products and their use.
This lack of regulation means that we often see untrained individuals performing inadequate pest control services that can lead to serious public health ramifications.
Whilst the performing of pest control services is not currently as regulated by law (we hope that one day this will change) how products such as pesticides and traps are used is.
Using a non-BPCA pest control service means that the risk of products being used in an unsafe, and possibly illegal, way is significantly higher.
This might not be a result of purposeful malpractice but simply accidental due to either a lack of knowledge of best practice or a lack of experience.
The BPCA seeks to eradicate these risks by requiring their members to undergo extensive training in order to retain their membership status.
Members are also bound by the BPCA Codes of Best Practice which details the responsibilities and best practices they must abide by at all times when providing services to customers.
As a BPCA member we go the extra mile when it comes to this and encourage and support all our staff to pursue higher award levels, rather than simply doing the bare minimum to retain our BPCA status.
We also recruit graduates with a background in the sciences to ensure that they already have a certain level of knowledge before entering training.
We fully support the BPCA in their mission to raise standards and promote professionalism within the pest control industry in the UK and will continue to push for further regulation to be introduced in the future.
To us at Pest Solutions, being a professional pest management company means more than just acquiring the relevant qualifications.
Whilst this is important to maintaining standards and reassuring customers, we see professionalism as a mindset and strive for excellence in everything we do.
Appearing professional is about more than a sharp uniform and a new van, it is about the way we represent ourselves and our company in the field, in the office, and over the phone.
It is about giving our customers the best possible service and doing so in the most humane, environmentally friendly, and sustainable way.
Environmentally Friendly
We only ever use products that have been fully approved and tested and follow all the BPCA guidance on best practice to avoid accidental harm to non-target species.
DIY or amateur pest control often leads to dangerous pesticides being accidentally spread among non-target species which is not only in-humane and highly immoral, but also illegal and you could find yourself in serious trouble if this occurs.
Well Trained
Using a pest control company that is a member of the BPCA, guarantees you that the technician who attends to your property will have the experience and training required to tackle the issues you are facing.
Cost-Effective
In an attempt to short-cut their way to business, unqualified non-BPCA approved pest control ‘technicians’ will often undercut the market with their prices.
Bear in mind that the better trained the technician, the better chance they have of achieving complete eradication of a pest infestation. Many cheaper services will do no more than tackle the problem at surface level and you could well see the problem rear its ugly head once more in a matter of weeks or months.
Professional pest control is almost always the most cost-effective option as the issue will usually be resolved in a single treatment due to the quality of the products used and the expertise of the technician.
Furthermore, many companies will offer to return to the property free of charge if the problem reappears in the days after treatment is complete.
Access To The Best Products
Often the reason that pest control services are cheaper is that the products they are using are inferior, or cheap knock-offs of the real thing.
Remember, pest control itself may not have that many barriers to entry, but the use of commercial grade pesticides and other pest management resources is strictly regulated and only professionals have the best chance of success for this reason.
We are proud members of the BPCA and supporters of the fantastic work that they do but this is only the start of the certifications that we hold at Pest Solutions.
Pest Solutions memberships and qualifications include:
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We are open 24 hours 7 days a week to help with all pest related enquiries.
We are open 24 hours 7 days a week to help with all pest related enquiries.
We are open 24/hours 7 days a week to help with all pest related enqurirs.