Following increased reports of rats in people’s homes during the pandemic, Bridgend County Borough Council has decided to keep its free pest control service.
The council is one of few local authorities in Wales that provide a free domestic pest control service and currently pays private company Rentokil £63,000 per year to deal with rats, mice, bed bugs and cockroaches. Residents must pay a fee to get rid of fleas and wasps.
The council’s cabinet agreed to maintain a free domestic pest control service during a meeting held last week.
The meeting was held because the contract with Rentokil is due to expire in October and the council needed to decide on how the service will be delivered in future.
Hywel Williams, deputy leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, said it would not be appropriate to charge residents for pest control and “not providing a service is just not an option” for the local authority.
He said people would be less likely to report issues with pests in their homes if they had to pay for them to be removed themselves.