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27
ERADICATION OF BED BUGS.
During the year the following numbers of houses were
found to be infested with bed bugs:—
Infested Disinfested
Council houses (rooms) 15 15
Other houses (rooms) 18 18
There is little doubt that the incidence of bed bug infestation
is far less now than in the pre-war years. The use of D.D.T. and
Gammaxane may have some bearing on this, whereby secondhand
furniture, etc., so often the vehicle for introducing these vermin
into houses can be effectively and more easily disinfested.
RATS AND MICE DESTRUCTION.
A very considerable change has taken place in our approach
to this important subject since 1921 when, soon after I commenced
my duties here, I persuaded the Council to get the Surrey County
Council to delegate their powers under the old Rats and Mice
(Destruction) Act, 1919. Year by year, with limited resources at
our disposal, good work was done to keep the rat population of the
district at a minimum. Regularly every November "Rat Weeks"
were held when extraordinary efforts were made to focus public
attention on the paramount importance of destroying rats. Thousands
of circulars giving detailed methods of how best to go about
poisoning or trapping rats, were distributed. This did not mean
that for the remaining 51 weeks we remained quiescent. On the
contrary, throughout the year we continued the good work of
relying on our powers of persuasion to gain the co-operation that
was so vitally necessary.
In 1937 the work had so developed that I asked for and
obtained the sanction of the Council to employ a man — full
time — to assist me in this work. This marked a distinct advance
and commenced what may be termed the second phase. We were
now enabled, on request, to carry out the work of destroying rats
ourselves and to make small charges for services rendered. More
important still it allowed the work to be done more systematically
and efficiently.
I like to mention the foregoing because it does show that we
were working hard and doing our best to tackle the rat problem
long before the third and present phase which commenced during
the last great war. The food shortage and the vital necessity for
husbanding our resources in this respect led to the Government
under emergency powers, to make the Infestation Order in 1943
and, shortly afterwards, a conference of all local authorities and
other interested parties or organisations was called by the Minister