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(III) Following up after Disinfestations—
No scheme of disinfestation can be regarded as satisfactory until arrangements
are made for following up in order to prevent re-infestation arising from
any cause, e.g., second-hand furniture; incomplete success in the first instance;
or sub-letting to a bug-infested family, etc.
As the number of houses requiring supervision was greater than the existing
staff of the Council could deal with, the Council decided to appoint an additional
woman sanitary inspector for this purpose. The appointment had not been
made at the end of the year.
(IV) Limitation of Harbourage-
Ordinary methods of house construction provide much harbourage for the
bed-bug and in some designs of houses it is impossible to eliminate the bedbug
except by using a gas like cyanide, the use of which is cumbersome and
troublesome in occupied properties. Consideration was given to this aspect
of the problem by the Housing Committee who decided that in the case of
cottage flats the first floor should be constructed on the hollow tile principle
screeded up in concrete and plastered on the underside according to the method
of the Kleine Company; that concrete skirting with wood beading (threequarters
of an inch), at the joint of the floors and concrete skirting be substituted
for the usual wood skirting. They decided also not to have picture
rails except in the living rooms, and also to do away with all forms of board
construction except where this was floated over with plaster on the under side.
So far as applicable this construction is followed also in cottages.
(V) Propaganda against the Bed-bug—
(a) The Council's Health Services booklet contains an article on The Bedbug
and this booklet is given to every tenant entering into occupation of one
of the Council's houses.
(b) To every tenant whose furniture is disinfested a letter is sent, incorporating
this article which is as follows:—
"You are now occupying a new house and my Council have done everything
in their power to prevent it becoming infested with bugs, which are very prevalent.
They have adopted similar precautions with all the other tenants in
the area, and are also doing everything they can to keep the houses free from
bugs in future. They ask for your co-operation in this matter.
Bugs may be brought into houses in various ways, of which the following
are some of the most usual:—