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19
Treatment by disinfestation
Rooms and furniture are sprayed with a proprietary solution
containing 5 per cent. DDT.
Bedding is steam treated with a pressure of 20 1bs. per sq. in.
Articles are steam treated with a pressure of l0 lbs. per sq. in.
Antifiy and antimosquito campaign
The campaign, which lasted from May 2 to September 30, was
organised on almost exactly similar lines to the one held in 1948. Four
men were employed working as two pairs, using motor cycles with sidecars
as transport. The number of sites dealt with was slightly less
than in the previous year because some of the original sites had been
built on or otherwise dealt with. 589 sites were visited as a routine and
during the season each site was treated on approximately 11 occasions.
In addition there were 7 special areas which were visited once a week,
consisting of stables, allotments, etc. Altogether 6,633 visits and treatments
were made and in addition miscellaneous sprayings were carried
out by the permanent disinfecting staff in houses where special
complaints were received. This was particularly in the neighbourhood
of the Hither Green sidings and in this connection, too, certain of the
residents who requested it were supplied with an insecticide containing
5 percent DDT for use in their own sprays, a total of 10 gallons of
insecticide being dispensed in this way.
In addition to the above, special measures were taken to deal with
especially offensive deposits, including such things as old mattresses or
dead animals. These were either destroyed on the site, or, in most
cases, collected and destroyed centrally. The public seems unaware
of the fact that this Department will collect and destroy discarded
mattresses from houses; many people apparently pay a general dealer
to take these away, and he in turn often dumps them on the nearest
piece of waste ground. No actual record was kept of the number of
such cases dealt with, but it is estimated to be in the neighbourhood of
100 — many more than in the previous year.
The summer was very hot, one of the hottest on record, and one
with the greatest amount of sunshine. Conditions therefore were almost
ideal for fly infestation and multiplication. It is not surprising therefore
that more complaints were received than in the previous year, but this
I think was general over the country as a whole. The complaints in
this borough on analysis appeared to be particularly centred round
Hither Green sidings, and towards the end of the summer I was in
correspondence with the British Railways Executive with regard to this.
Two departments are apparently involved, one being the estates department
which deals with the user of allotments and other land on either
side of the railway, and the other, the department covering the track
itself. It appeared from an inspection that both departments might be
concerned. Representatives of the estates department came down and
made a thorough inspection with us as a result of which they have taken
certain action which it is hoped will get rid of most of the animals
kept near the railway and near the houses from which complaints