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now ask all Medical Officers of Health to report on this subject
under the following five heads:—
(1) The number of (a) Council Houses, (b) other houses,
(i) found to be infested, (ii) disinfested.
Council Houses or Flats.
There were in the possession of the Council at the end of the
year 1,390 dwellings. Bug infestation of varying degree was found
during 1938 in eleven of these dwellings. In nine of these instances
the families removed to their present Council dwelling prior to
1934, in which year the Council's cyanide gas chamber was erected.
Up to that time there was no routine diisinfestation of the furniture
of families removing to Council dwellings. There were, therefore,
only two instances during the year of re-infestation after the Council
had taken steps to free the family's possessions from vermin.
The eleven dwellings were cleansed and freed from vermin, in
six instances by the staff of the Public Health Department, three
by the staff of the Housing Department and the remaining two by
the tenants themselves.
Other Houses.
The number of houses in private ownership found during 1938
to be bug-infested was 857 and the rooms affected numbered 1,357.
In all these cases the rooms were disinfested by the staff of the Public
Health Department.
(2) The methods employed for freeing infested houses
from bed bugs.
The methods used by the Public Health Department vary
according to circumstances. Usually, where conditions are suitable,
premises are fumigated with sulphur dioxide. Very good results
are being obtained by burning powdered sulphur to which has been
added 5 per cent, potassium nitrate. Care should be taken that
the potassium nitrate is mixed in a fine powder with the sulphur
or spluttering may take place while the mixture is burning. Rooms
are sealed with pasted grease-proof paper and the fumigating
material burnt in tins containing about one-half pound of material
distributed about the rooms. Approximately six pounds of fumigating
material is used to 1,000 cubic feet of air space. Where
possible, the rooms are kept closed overnight, but in many cases
they have to be re-occupied the same evening, and in these circumstances
the rooms are closed early in the day and opened six to
eight hours later. Where necessary, certain articles are removed