NEWS · 29 October 2026
12 of the 21 councils that answered our FOI no longer treat pests for residents
Freedom of Information replies show many district councils have quietly withdrawn pest control, while the councils that still run a service logged thousands of rat call-outs a year.
By Sam Allcock ·
Twelve of the 21 councils that answered a Freedom of Information request from Animal Control UK said they no longer provide a pest control service to residents.
We asked 118 councils on 16 October how many pest control requests they received in 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, what happened to the stray dogs they collected, and what they charge for pest treatment. By 29 October, 21 had answered at least part of the request. The figures below are a sample of those councils, not a national total.
Councils with no pest service for residents
| Council | What the council told us |
|---|---|
| Ashford Borough Council | No pest control service for a number of years |
| Brentwood Borough Council | We do not provide a service |
| Broxtowe Borough Council | No pest control service since 2016 |
| East Cambridgeshire District Council | Does not offer a pest control service |
| Harborough District Council | No service; its external contract ended in 2023 |
| Hertsmere Borough Council | No longer provides a pest control service |
| Horsham District Council | Stopped providing the service around 2015 and stopped outsourcing it around 2018 |
| North Kesteven District Council | No pest control contractor and no charges |
| North Warwickshire Borough Council | No in-house service; contractors only for council housing |
| Orkney Islands Council | No service; residents use two private firms |
| Rochford District Council | No pest control service since 2016/17 |
| Southend-on-Sea City Council | The council does not have a pest control service |
Several of these councils still log complaints about pests through environmental health. Rochford recorded 32 domestic rat complaints in 2025, and North Kesteven logged 69 external rat or mouse infestations in the same year.
Scottish Borders Council said its domestic pest control service was suspended for most of 2025 after an officer retired and a death in service. Its recorded wasp jobs fell from 337 in 2023/24 to 5 in 2025/26.
Where councils still treat pests, rats lead the demand
| Council | Period | Rat requests | Total pest requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northumberland County Council | 2023/24 | 975 | 3,574 |
| Northumberland County Council | 2025/26 | 738 | 2,993 |
| Coventry City Council | 2023 | 2,673 | 3,327 |
| Rochdale Borough Council | 2025 | 780 | not totalled |
| Chorley and South Ribble (shared service) | 2023/24 | 1,146 | 2,140 |
| Chorley and South Ribble (shared service) | 2025/26 | 673 | 932 |
| Stafford Borough Council | 2025/26 | 162 | not totalled |
Coventry said pest records for April to December 2024 and January to March 2025 were lost in a systems transfer, so its 2024 and 2025 totals are incomplete. Coventry treats rats, bed bugs and cockroaches free, and charges £58 for mice, £104 for wasps and £245 for squirrels.
Chorley and South Ribble sent identical figures because the two councils share the service.
Related
- Councils that have stopped pest control
- What councils charge to treat rats
- What councils charge to treat mice
- What councils charge for wasp nests
- Stray dogs: who to call in every council
- The rat postcode lottery: council charges from £10 to £309.50
Animal Control UK is published by Domain Farm Limited. The requests were made by Sam Allcock. More replies are due in November and this report will be updated as they arrive.