Will Timms has worked in pest control for over a decade – but Birmingham’s ongoing bin strikes have pushed his job to the limit. With overflowing rubbish and surging rat infestations, we follow Will through the streets of a city where pest control has become an essential frontline service.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00You wouldn't normally think of pest control as a particularly unusual job
00:05until the bins have stopped being emptied.
00:08Will Timms has been flat out since the strikes began,
00:11driving across the city every day, dealing with rats the size of small dogs.
00:16He's even cancelled holidays to keep up with demand.
00:19It's not glamorous work, it's stressful, it's smelly, and lately, it's non-stop.
00:24But how did he end up in this line of work in the first place?
00:27Well, originally I was in the forces and I came out of there and I did security
00:33and I ended up doing security in hospitals there, like the Cellio Hospital I&E
00:38and everywhere like that, and I got fed up with being beaten up.
00:42So I was doing 72 hours a week, I got my jaw broke, ribs cracked,
00:49knife pulled on me, pistol pulled on me, and I just thought, I've had enough.
00:53So I saw a job, advertised at Rent-A-Kill, and I went for that.
00:57Whether it's a council flat or a new Jaguar, the rats don't discriminate,
01:01and neither does Will.
01:03His days are spent crawling through tight spaces, trapping rodents,
01:06and occasionally informing police when a job requires more firepower.
01:11And with bin bags stacked high and nappies left on pavements,
01:15it's not just a job anymore, it's a public service.
01:18But for someone who's been doing this for over a decade,
01:21is this really the worst it's ever been?
01:24Well, usually this time of year, we're doing about three, four rodent jobs a day,
01:28then insect jobs, moths, bed bugs, anything like that.
01:32But since the bin strokes, in certain areas, it's just got absolutely out of control.
01:37So the calls for rats getting into people's cars, sheds, back gardens, loft spaces,
01:41is virtually doubled.
01:43So 40 to 50% since the bin strokes.
01:47It has started to slow down a bit now,
01:49because people are starting to learn to take the rubbish and not fly tip.
01:54So, and it has started to calm down a bit now.
01:56The booming business might sound like a blessing,
01:59but Will isn't celebrating.
02:01He's worried about amateurs taking things into their own hands,
02:05lying illegal glue boards, using poison unsightly,
02:08even endangering children and animals.
02:11And with a city this size,
02:12the consequences of bad pest control could spread just as fast as the rats.
02:16But even for a seasoned professional,
02:19the scale of the problem has been overwhelming.
02:21Oh, they're buying absolutely ridiculous bait off Amazon, eBay, local shops.
02:27They're buying sticky boards, which are actually illegal.
02:30People are putting snap traps up in their loft,
02:33not really realising that they've got bats.
02:35So bats are getting caught in the snap traps as well,
02:37which again is highly illegal.
02:39And they're just going out and just piling.
02:41They see somebody chuck a load of rubbish at it.
02:43So I think, oh, I'll add mine to that,
02:44so I've taken it down the tip.
02:46What they don't realise is when they're doing that,
02:48the rats are climbing all over that, urinating all over it.
02:50They're picking it up, taking it to their house.
02:53They've got a cut on their finger or something.
02:55I think they're getting the flu.
02:56And I haven't.
02:57They've got libtospirosis coming, which is a killer.