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42
station. The total number of houses disinfested during 1936 was
114. Of these 9 were Council houses and the others belonged to
private owners.
As a means also of preventing infestation of Council houses
by the admission of new tenants, we have continued throughout the
year the system of making it obligatory on all new tenants to have
their furniture subjected to fumigation by hydrocyanic acid gas
before admission to the new house. The furniture is removed from
the old house in a special van in which it is fumigated by a firm of
professional fumigators employed by the Council, and installed
in the new house later in the day. Meanwhile, all bedding,
cushions, etc., have been stoved at thhe Council's steam disinfector.
As a further precaution still all new Council tenants are advised by
letter to be very careful to see that any second-hand furniture and
particularly any beds purchased by them is free from vermin before
it is taken into a Council house, and if there is any suggestion of
verminous infestation the suspected article may be removed to the
Council's disinfector to be cleaned.
These arrangements for dealing with the furniture and
bedding of new Council tenants have been in force now since July,
1935, and have been very satisfactory in every way.