Bees
Peterborough City Council discourages the treatment of bees for
environmental reasons. Bees have a beneficial role as pollinators
and predators to garden pests. A swarm is usually the male worker
bees following the queen; they may disperse after an hour or so. If
left alone they will usually move on. Midland Environmental
Services Ltd work in co-operation with Peterborough Honey Bee
Association and will refer, where possible, honey bee swarms to
local bee keepers for collection and relocation to a local
hive.
In some cases however, for health and safety reasons, it may be
necessary to complete a treatment where vulnerable people are at
risk. Please contact Midland Environmental Services Ltd. for
further advice Tel 01858 439017
Bats
Certain animals, including all UK bats, are protected by law. It
is a criminal offence to injure or kill bats. It is also an offence
to destroy or obstruct access to their roosts. Contact Natural
England for advice on what to do if you need to move bats or a bat
roost by telephoning 0845 600 3078.
Birds
It is a criminal offence to kill, injure or take any wild birds
in the UK. It is also an offence to damage or remove their
nests or to disturb them whilst they are breeding. The bird
breeding season typically lasts from March to August and work can
usually be done outside of this season, after the young birds have
left their nests.
Contact Midland Environmental Services Ltd on
01858 439017 for advice on how to deal with nuisance
birds.
Snakes
If you find a snake in your garden you can seek advice by
visiting the Natural England website or
contact Natural England on 01733 455000 for advice or visit the
Froglife website or Wildlife
Information Service on 01733 558960.
Methods of pest control
There are legal restrictions on methods used to kill animals and
wild birds, including the use of poisons and trapping, or methods
that cause their unnecessary suffering. There are exceptions to
this, for example the use of poison or poison bait in controlling
insects, rats and mice in the interest of public health. If
controlling pests yourself, you must make sure all reasonable
precautions are taken to avoid injury to other (non-target) species
and people.