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own houses and for those in private ownership. It may be said that the methods
therein described have been adhered to except in so far as experience has demanded
improvements. We have continued to rely on sulphur dioxide for occupied houses;
orthodichlorbenzene, almost entirely, for empty houses, and for the disinfestation
of vacated houses in clearance areas; but we have made more use of cyanide for
van disinfestation work and for infested blocks of Council houses. When using
cyanide in blocks of houses, temporary accommodation has been provided for two
nights on each occasion in the block of six houses set apart for this purpose.
An important addition has been the purchase of a pantechnicon, which is
used not only for furniture removals but also for general disinfection work. It
differs from the usual type in two respects (a) an extractor fan has been fitted,
and (b) it is wired so that electric radiators may be used when necessary. The
extractor fan is at the inner side of a tunnel in the Luton body space; the tunnel
is closed at the front end by a wooden flap and inside the tunnel is a wooden
diaphragm which permits of easy sealing and easy opening. The electricity supply
for the radiators and fan is obtained through a lead when the van is standing at
Sun Yard Depot. This van has been a successful innovation; cyanide is extracted
from the van by means of the fan and ventilation is thus greatly accelerated. This
is of great importance working as we do against time in this disinfestation process.
The year's work may be summarised as follows. Sulphur dioxide was used
in respect of 414 houses, practically all in private ownership, and in 362 instances
it was successful in one application. Orthodichlorbenzene was used on 59 occasions
in empty houses and on 36 occasions in occupied houses. Except in four instances
it was only used once on each occasion. In four cases there was re-infestation
at the end of the year. Cyanide (Zyklon B) was used for disinfestation of furniture
in transit in vans on 130 occasions ; for disinfestation of furniture in 24 new houses
in 7 blocks, and for the disinfestation of 34 occupied houses in 10 infested blocks.
In no instance was there any re-infestation discovered during the year. Other
fumigants or contact sprays were used on 16 occasions, in most cases experimentally.
Forty-one houses in clearance areas were disinfested with orthodichlorbenzene
before being demolished. Excluding these slum houses, the total number of rooms
subjected to a process of disinfestation was 1,612.
Valuable assistance in the skilled observation and scientific control of the
processes has been given by officers of Government departments and specialists
in this work.
Supervision of all houses, subjected to disinfestation or where furniture is
disinfested prior to the tenant's admission, is maintained for two years by periodic
inspections. In this way 785 houses dealt with in earlier years were inspected.
In exactly 100 of these (94 of which had been treated by sulphur) were bugs found.
In not a single house on the Council's Estate from which the bed-bug had been
eliminated, did re-infestation occur. It can now be said that the Middle Park