FOI Request - Pest Control Usage

Request 101003862040

Please provide the following information for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025, broken down by financial year:

1. Total expenditure by the council on pest control services, including both in-house provision and external/contracted services.

2. If any services are contracted out, please provide the supplier name(s) and the contract value(s).

3. The number of call-outs/treatments by species category (e.g. rats, mice, pigeons, gulls, foxes, grey squirrels, wasps, bedbugs, cockroaches—please use your own categories if recorded differently).

4. For any lethal control commissioned or carried out by the council, the number of animals killed by species and, where recorded, the method used (e.g. trapping, poisoning, shooting).

5. A copy of any policy, guidance, or standard operating procedure relating to the council’s pest control service or contractors.

Response 29-10-2025

1. 

Regarding seagulls, please see expenditure below:

Housing & Corporate buildings
2020/21-– £36,304.00
2021/22- £46,318.00
2022/23 – £88,821.00
2023/24- £96,219.00
2024/25- £105,473.00

2. We have adopted use of the Scotland Excel Pest Control Services and Associated Products and we have an annual value of £18,025. 

There are various suppliers on the framework. It would difficult to identify the spend with the suppliers against the framework as these suppliers could be used for non-contracted purchases.

Supplier on the framework are:

Anderson Pest Prevention Ltd
Killgerm Chemicals Limited
Pestokill Pest Control
RCA Pest Services Ltd, T/A Pest Solutions
Rentokil Initial UK Limited
TerminixUK Ltd

For seagulls, please see information below:

Contract for Gull removal – Contract Ref:18/0962 Gul Prevention Measures Moray Wide
Contract Duration. March 2024 – to June 2026
Contract Value: £114,820.00 per year
Appointed Contractor : Specialist Vermin Control, Roe Croft, Crofthead, Ruthven, AB54 4SQ

3. Please find attached information regarding general call-outs. 

Please note, Moray Council stopped doing in-house pest control at the end of the 2023/2024 financial year.

Open Spaces have used Anderson Pest Control to deal with 3 wasp nests this year – one at a play area, other two in a cemetery shed – total cost £100 plus vat.

Please find linked further information on Loft Contamination call-outs. 

Regarding seagulls specifically, please see the following information below:

Seagulls (Herring Gulls) records kept, as below (Housing areas only):

Year         Nests Removed     Eggs Removed             Chicks removed & relocated         Dead Gulls removed
2020/21:   N/A                          N/A                              N/A                                                   N/A
2021/22:  161                            381                               N/A                                                   N/A
2022/23:    21                              54                               27                                                        -
2023/24:    75                              92                                0                                                     19
2024/25:  106                        1    50                                0                                                     24

Please find linked information on Gull Prevention Measures to Council Housing Properties. 

For corporate buildings please see information included in the 2021 report.

4. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

5. See tender specification scope of works enclosed (Gull control).