Pest control / insurance advice required

[thomasa]

Ok, i was talking to the owner of a nearby large industrial/warehouse complex recently regarding the large amount of pigeons roosting in the rafters there. They are causing the usual mess and nuisance and need to be dealt with, hes already had a well known pest control firm in who only bagged half a dozen birds and charged him £400 for the privalege!

 

As you have guessed i am very keen to get the A'Arms out and help thin the population, trouble is im not sure where i stand regarding insurance. Will my standard BASC insurance do it or do i need something more official. Should i get him/his staff to sign off a risk assesment etc etc

 

Any advice or guidance with regards this would be very usefull.

Edited October 4, 2010 by thomasa

[Paul in North Lincs.]

Before you contemplate shooting the pigeons, there are at least four requirements that must met under the terms of the General License, to allow pest birds to be culled.

 

Don't fall foul of the law bud

[thomasa]

Before you contemplate shooting the pigeons, there are at least four requirements that must met under the terms of the General License, to allow pest birds to be culled.

 

Don't fall foul of the law bud

 

I have been shooting pigeons for years chap, usually use a 12 gauge though. As i understand it i will legally be permitted to shoot if they are causing a health and safety risk (pigeon droppings etc) and where non lethal methods have failed. I know hes tried cage traps and poisons to little effect, and if hes already had rentokill in surely the general license conditions have already been met...

Edited October 4, 2010 by thomasa

[bignoel]

hes already had rentokill in surely the general license conditions have already been met...

 

 

 

Before you contemplate shooting the pigeons, there are at least four requirements that must met under the terms of the General License, to allow pest birds to be culled.

[HDAV]

I would say contact BASC they should be able to give you all the info needed and any requirements you need to check.

[thomasa]

I would say contact BASC they should be able to give you all the info needed and any requirements you need to check.

 

Yeah i think thats probably what i will do, better to be safe than sorry.

[Cannon]

I have the same issue in my workplace and I can guarantee that at no point at all has my employer tried to prevent the birds from entering the premesis, and have brought rentokil in numerous times at a cost of £450 a pop. Time after time I'm refused permission by my employer to cull the birds because I'm not insured What do I pay BASC for then?

 

A common misconception about Health and Safety and bird droppings is that they are somehow going to magically jump up at you and inflict all manner of terrible diseases upon you. This is not true. The only real risk they pose is to the respiratory tract, and this is when they have dried out and been disturbed in some way.

 

Prevention is the best method when it comes to industrial buildings, and would be a lot cheaper too. Still though, it would be nice to be able to terminate the flying rats if given the opportunity

[jonesbach]

if you can prove that other methods have been used to prevent/eradicate the problem. then what is stopping you doing it as you normally would in your own time. surely basc would cover you then as it would if you were in a farmers barn not your workplace?!

 

best get in touch with basc first though. theres a PW member you could ask..davidbasc.

 

ATB

[jonevo]

be careful if you are being paid to do the job,then basc's ordinary insurance will not cover you,its as I can remember only public liability Insurance,

but deffo not for business purposes or if money is paid to do a job.

 

I am sure other BASC members will put me right

Edited October 5, 2010 by jonevo

[HDAV]

Check with BASC but Public liability for a sole trader pest controller is about £160 a year for £2 million public liability cover only for a bout the same you can join a professional organisation. So for somewhere round £300 you can set yourself up as a pest controller infor HMRC that you self employed as well as having a job and the direct business costs are deductable against any tax you need to pay, but after speaking to your accountant (deductible expense) you may find your operating costs of running an office at home, travelling to job sites, quoting, training, material costs etc its very hard to make a profit..... Even if you are charging £200 for one evening a week of pigeon bashing...

[Dekers]

be careful if you are being paid to do the job,then basc's ordinary insurance will not cover you,its as I can remember only public liability Insurane,but not for business or if money is paid to do a job.

 

I am sure other BASC members will put me right

 

 

[vampire]

Dont forget that the dead birds carry desease as with rats and you will need to legally dispose of these

[stubby]

also check out how your going to dispose of the ferals, even if you do it for free, carrying woodies or rabbits in the back of your motor is ok, as you can say they are for your own use (food) but transporting a load of dead ferals, which no one would eat, you'll need a waste transfer license, and somewhere to dispose of them, in pest control, none of these added extra bits of paperwork come cheap, a reason rentokil probably charged such a price, remember any work done within a commercial buisness, might sound easy peasy, but unless you get all the legal bits sorted, you can be sure, that if anything goes wrong, the owner/his employees will come after you for conpensation, so a seeminly easy job, can turn into a nightmare

[COACH]

If the factory is food connected it makes the legalities easier because of contamination from droppings.

[edr]

Check with BASC but Public liability for a sole trader pest controller is about £160 a year for £2 million public liability cover only for a bout the same you can join a professional organisation. So for somewhere round £300 you can set yourself up as a pest controller infor HMRC that you self employed as well as having a job and the direct business costs are deductable against any tax you need to pay, but after speaking to your accountant (deductible expense) you may find your operating costs of running an office at home, travelling to job sites, quoting, training, material costs etc its very hard to make a profit..... :yes: Even if you are charging £200 for one evening a week of pigeon bashing...

 

But you can claim the vat off bullets, cartridges and pellets.

 

If the factory is food connected it makes the legalities easier because of contamination from droppings.

 

If its connected with food then surely you shouldn't be dropping metal pellets within the area???

 

ATB

EDR

[HDAV]

But you can claim the vat off bullets, cartridges and pellets.

Only if your Vat registered....