Birmingham council issues statement on pest control disruption amid bins strike
Birmingham City Council has issued a statement as its pest control services continue to be disrupted by the bins strike.
The Labour-run authority has temporarily suspended all pest control services except for rat treatments, which are free of charge at the moment.
It is not taking bookings on its website for issues with mice, wasps, bedbugs, cockroaches and fleas.
The council said focusing only on rats was done to “prioritise public health” during the industrial action, which has been rumbling on since January.
This week marked six months since the strike went all-out and numerous areas are still blighted by rubbish issues, leaving some residents deeply concerned about rodents.
But according to the council’s website, the appointment booking system for the rat treatment service is also currently paused.
“We cannot give treatment timescales,” it adds. “If you report a rat problem, an officer may visit and provide a free poison bait box.”
Majid Mahmood, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said action had been taken to reduce the city’s “rat population”.
“The council has always been one of many providers of pest control services across the city,” he said.
“In April 2025, we took the decision to suspend all pest control services with the exception of rats in response to increased complaints.
“At the same time, charges for all residential rat treatments were suspended and a proactive rat treatment programme was introduced to help reduce the rat population in the city and in turn deliver a public health benefit.”
He continued: “The proactive programme continues to target neighbourhoods with the highest number of rat complaints and the areas where the greatest amount of household waste has been removed from the streets.
“In the first two months, nearly 9,000 rat bait boxes were delivered to citizens.”
The council said city residents could also buy their own treatments online or at most hardware stores, adding: “Always follow safety instructions when using pest control products.”
Birmingham’s pest control service was at the centre of controversy after the crisis-hit authority’s 2024 budget included plans to introduce new charges for rat treatments – a service which was previously free.
The decision attracted criticism from opposition councillors, with one referring to it as a “rat tax” while another warned of a “golden decade for rats”.
The row even saw Birmingham councillor Sam Forsyth announce during a full council meeting that she had quit the Labour Party.
Fears over rodents escalated during the height of the bins strike, which left mountains of bin bags outside homes and caused misery for residents across the city.
The council’s Labour administration took action to clear the huge backlog of waste after a major incident was declared in spring and introduced several measures, including making rat treatments temporarily free of charge.
But Coun Robert Alden, leader of the Conservative Group, urged the council to “go further” and axe the rat charge permanently.
Sajeela Naseer, director of regulation and enforcement at the council, previously told a council meeting the particular charge was brought in because the delivery of the free service was costing the authority around £400,000.
“Obviously we’re in a specific financial situation at the moment,” she said at the time. “We followed a lead that has been shown by other local authorities across the country.”
She said the council had been consulting on a new operating structure within pest control.
“Whereas last year the pest control service was costing the council £400,000, it will now be at no cost to the council,” she said.
“We accept there are citizens who will no longer have that free service but we have done our best to mitigate against the impacts.”
The bins strike dispute was triggered by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, with striking workers raising concerns about pay.
The Labour-run council’s leadership has repeatedly insisted a “fair and reasonable” offer had been made.
