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(2) Number of dwelling-houses demolished in
pursuance of Demolition Orders—
D. Proceedings under Section 12 of the Housing
Act, 1936:—
(1) Number of separate tenements or
ground rooms in respect of which Closing
Orders were made—
(2) Number of separate tenements or
ground rooms in respect of which Closing
Orders were determined, the tenement or
room having been rendered fit—
VERMINOUS PREMISES.
Of the forty-four houses found infested with bugs and one
house with fleas, seventeen were reported by the owner or occupier,
seven by firms undertaking fumigation on behalf of the owner
and the remaining twenty were found either by routine inspection
or when investigating other complaints.
Of the forty-four bug-infested houses, forty were treated by
the owners and/or occupiers (eight by cyanide gas process). Two
more were disinfested by cyanide gas at the Council's expense,
the bedding in another case was fumigated by steam and the
remaining case outstanding at the end of the year was subject to
a legal notice.
A house to house inspection was carried out during the year
in Avondale Road and out of a total of forty-four houses, fifteen
were found verminous. This high percentage is due to the apathy
on the part of some of the tenants (many of whom alleged that
they had never seen bugs, though examination proved the infestation
to be one of long standing) but more particularly to the
gross neglect on the part of some of the owners who failed to take
the necessary action to disinfest the houses before reletting them
to new tenants.
The efficiency of the treatments carried out by the owners
and occupiers varied considerably. In most cases the procedure
followed consisted of stripping the wall papers from infested rooms
and spraying with proprietary vermicides. In many cases this
has done little more than control the infestation and unless every
precaution is taken by the occupier, further trouble can be expected.
It has been found that where the owner has sprayed the house
and supplied the occupier with vermicide and spray for secondary
and periodical applications, the treatment has proved successful.
While the local authority may carry out work of disinfesting
in default of the person on whom the notice is served to carry out
the work doing so, and may recover the expenses incurred by them,
if they elect to use gas for the purpose of destroying the vermin,
they must bear the cost of their operations. This is an unfortunate
provision which acts to the advantage of the owners of those
houses which, just because they are the more seriously infested,
call for more stringent treatment.