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Swimming Baths and Pools.—When the new Granville Road Baths are brought into use in
the Spring of 1937 the Council will have available three open-air swimming pools and one covered
bath, viz.:—
Gladstone Park Bath.—Constructed 1903. Open Air.
King Edward VII Bath.—Constructed 1911. Open Air.
Craven Park Bath.—Constructed 1935. Open Air.
Granville Road Bath.—Constructed 1936-37. Covered Bath.
In all cases filtration is by pressure and sterilisation by chlorination. Bacteriological tests of
water from each bath are taken weekly during the season.
Eradication of Bed Bugs.—Dwellers in Clearance Areas and in overcrowded houses to be
removed to Council houses or flats and the Disinfestation of privately-owned houses.
The schemes for dealing with these cases were set out in Appendices M, N and Q, in the Annual
Report for 1935, and have been in operation during the year.

Council houses.—A workman is employed on the Maintenance Staff of the Borough Engineer's
Department specially for the purpose of disinfestation. All woodwork is loosened and walls are
stripped of paper, the rooms being first sprayed with a strong insecticide. The premises are then
re-sprayed, and further spraying is done at intervals until a negative result is obtained on several
visits. The co-operation of the tenant is sought in effecting a thorough cleaning of the premises
and frequent visits are made after disinfestation to ensure that cleanliness is being maintained. When
disinfestation is complete the walls and ceilings are distempered.
Privately-owned houses.—Houses found to be infested on house-to-house inspection or
investigation on complaint numbered 215.
Of this number 72 were disinfested by the owners and 143 by the Council at the owners' request.
900 reinspections were made by the Disinfector and 499 by the Sanitary Inspectors to ascertain if
the measures taken had been successful.
Methods employed for freeing infested houses from bed bugs.—The methods used by the Department
were :—
(a) Orthodichlorbenzine was used with successful results in 13 rooms and was discontinued
prior to the Ministry's Circular dated 22nd May deprecating the use of
this material in occupied houses.
(b) Sulphur was used in 204 rooms, a second application being necessary in 17 rooms.
(c) Other insecticides were used in 34 rooms, a second application being necessary in
3 cases.
Prior to the disinfestation of the house either by the Council or the owner the bedding is removed
for steam disinfection by the Council (excepting in a few cases where infestation is slight and there is
no evidence of vermin in the bedding), the wall papers stripped, mouldings and architraves removed
and any defective plastering made good, the flame of a plumber's blow lamp is applied to all cracks
and crevices.
Methods employed for ensuring that the belongings of the tenants are free from vermin
before removal to Council houses—
The belongings of tenants from Slum Clearance Areas and from overcrowded premises are
removed in special vans under an agreement either by the Borough of Kensington or a Contractor.
Furniture and bedding is removed to the Depot where the bedding is steam disinfected and
the contents of the van treated with hydro-cyanic acid gas and later in the day the whole is taken
to the new premises allocated to the tenant, 61 families from the Slum Clearance and 10 families from
overcrowded premises being so removed during the year.
Disinfestation with hydrogen cyanide is not carried out directly by this Council.
After disinfestation all privately-owned houses are revisited by the Disinfector or Sanitary
Inspector twice at intervals of ten days, twice at intervals of three weeks and twice at intervals of
three months.
At these visits the furniture and bedding are examined and the occupiers are instructed where
to search for vermin and how to keep their belongings clean.