The Home Office invested over £5,500 to eliminate bedbugs at its Westminster HQ, highlighting a growing pest issue in London.
Westminster: So, it turns out the Home Office had a bit of a bedbug problem at their headquarters. They had to shell out over £5,500 for sniffer dogs to help tackle the issue. Can you believe that?
This all came to light after the Government Property Agency found some pesky bedbugs hanging out in the furniture. They discovered this earlier this year in a building that also houses the Ministry for Housing and other departments.
In total, the Home Office spent £11,072 on pest control, which included the dog detection services. They had to take some furniture out of commission to stop the bugs from spreading. Yikes!
According to a notice, the pest control team sealed off the affected furniture and planned to treat the area. Thankfully, the Home Office reassured everyone that no new furniture was needed and that the buildings remained safe.
Now, bedbugs aren’t known to carry diseases, and most bites heal up in about a week. But they can be a real nuisance, feeding on blood and leaving itchy bites.
Last year, pest control companies in London were overwhelmed with calls about bedbugs. They even warned that the situation was getting out of hand, especially after a big outbreak in Paris.
In fact, bedbug callouts in London jumped by 20% last year, with councils spending over £270,000 to deal with the problem. A recent report showed that pest control services visited nearly 9,000 homes in the city for bedbug issues in 2023.
Even Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed concern about the potential spread of bedbugs from France to London’s public transport. He mentioned that Transport for London was taking steps to keep the bugs at bay.