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58
put their furniture into the houses. In each of these cases the occupiers of infested
dwellings were accommodated for two nights in a block of empty houses on the
Council's Estate, reserved for this purpose. The occupiers of the non-infested
dwellings in the blocks were offered accommodation for one night, but allowed
to return to their own dwellings the same evening if they so desired, as soon as
the premises had been certified as safe. In no instance was any re-infestation
discovered during the year.
(d) In cases of light infestation, or where for any reason it was not practicable
to seal off a room, other fumigants or contact sprays were used on 56 occasions,
with three failures.
(e) Experimentally 25 houses were disinfested with new fumigants, either by
pseudo cumene, or by washed heavy naphtha. The technique for using these
fumigants had to be worked out, and it can be said now that the work done promises
well. The substances are non-toxic to humans. On every occasion, in each case,
after one or more treatments, & successful result was finally obtained.
In dealing with new substances it is necessary to find out how to use them.
In these cases the method in use at the end of the year included the heating of
the rooms by means of primus stoves to a temperature of over 65° F., the covering
of the windows with brown paper to prevent loss of heat, and to darken the rooms,
and the production of a saturated atmosphere at the elevated temperature. The
rooms were left sealed up over night.
Tf the results in the ensuing summer are as successful as these early experiments
have been, it may be that a convenient method of eradicating the bed-bug
in occupied houses has at last been found.
(/) In addition to the above, 21 houses in Clearance Areas were disinfested
with orthodichlorbenzene and 11 with other fumigants, before demolition.
3. The Methods Employed for Ensuring that the Belongings of Tenants are free
from Vermin before Removal to Council Houses.—The Sanitary Inspector in charge of
disinfestation inspects the furniture of all persons provisionally selected as tenants
for the Council's houses, decides when disinfestation is necessary and makes the
necessary arrangements. During the year he visited 709 houses in this connection.
In all cases where vermin are found, the removal is carried out under the supervision
of the Health Department, either in the Council's special pantechnicons, of
which there are now two, or in hired vans. During the year 203 removals were
carried out in this way, each vanload being disinfested with Zyklon B, at the
Council's depot. Occasionally disinfestation is carried out after infested furniture
has arrived in the new house, but this is only done when the number of removals
at the week-end is greater than can be dealt with by vans.