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78
Bug Infestation of Houses.—This problem has received much attention from
the Public Health Committee during the year owing to the apparent increase in the
number of infested houses and the difficulties which arose in disinfesting them.
The Council's powers in the matter are found in the London County Council
(General Powers) Acts of 1922 and 1928. Briefly these are as follows:—
(a) Section 9 of the 1922 Act enables the sanitary authority, at their own
expense, on a report from the Medical Officer of Health, to cleanse, disinfect or
destroy any articles infested with vermin, or likely to be so infested by reason
of being used by any person so infested.
(b) Section 10 of the same Act enables any sanitary authority on a report
from their Medical Officer of Health, to require the owner or occupier of a
verminous house to take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of
destroying or removing vermin.
(c) Section 26 of the 1928 Act enables any sanitary authority, on a report
from their Medical Officer of Health, to apply to a Petty Sessional Court for an
Order for the removal and cleansing of a person infested with vermin to a
cleansing station to enable him and his clothing to be cleansed, if such person
does not consent to go there voluntarily.
It should be noted that, so far as infested articles are concerned, the sanitary
authority is responsible for disinfestation if they are so minded, and it will also be
noted that the necessary legal procedure can only be set in motion by a decision of
the sanitary authority after the receipt of a report from the Medical Officer of Health.
If the legal position is strictly adhered to, delay inevitably ensues, and so, after
very full consideration, the Public Health Committee decided that the Medical Officer
of Health should be authorised to take the necessary steps to disinfest articles and
premises without waiting for the authority of the Committee but subject to report
to the Committee, and, in the case of difficult or recalcitrant persons, to the normal
legal steps being followed. As a result of this decision it was possible to invite the
co-operation of owners immediately after the sanitary inspector had discovered the
verminous conditions, and as the Council's scheme described below became known,
less and less difficulty was experienced with owners.
In bug-infested houses there are usually other nuisances and so it is the practice
to include, in intimation notices, bug infestation when such is discovered. In such
cases, however, it is now the practice for a letter to be sent by me stating that the
department is prepared to co-operate with the owner in arranging for the disinfestation
of infested articles in the room or rooms infested, at the same time as his workmen
are dealing with the infested portions of the structure of the house, and asking him
to write and say whether he wishes to take advantage of this offer so that a date
convenient to both parties may be fixed. This arrangement has worked very well.