Pest control in Finchley

What are Finchley's homes like?

Finchley grew along the Great North Road and then the Northern line, and its housing shows the layers. N2, East Finchley, has Edwardian terraces around the High Road, the cottages of the old village, and the edge of Hampstead Garden Suburb. N3, Finchley Central and Church End, has Victorian villas near the church, 1930s semis towards Hendon and a good number of larger houses divided into flats. N12, North Finchley and Woodside Park, has Edwardian terraces around Tally Ho Corner, 1930s mansion blocks along Ballards Lane and the High Road, and the detached houses of Woodside Park. Everywhere there are post-war and recent blocks of flats, and many of the larger houses are now in several households.

Why are flats and conversions the main issue?

A converted house holds several kitchens, several bathrooms and one set of pipe runs, roof space and drains. Mice that enter at one kitchen travel through the whole building. Cockroaches follow the hot water pipes and ducts. Bed bugs move through gaps around pipes into the flat next door. A mansion block adds shared bin stores and a basement. This is why a Finchley enquiry about a flat usually leads to a question about the rest of the building and who manages it. Your landlord, the freeholder or the managing agent is responsible for the common parts, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 can apply where the building's condition lets an infestation in. Tell them in writing, and say in your enquiry whether neighbours are affected.

What about the Edwardian terraces?

The terraces around East Finchley High Road, Long Lane and Tally Ho Corner have cellars or suspended floors, chimneys, rear additions and shared party walls. Mice run along the whole row under the floors and through the roof space. Clothes moths thrive in original wool carpets, under heavy furniture and in cupboards under the stairs. Wasps nest in the eaves and behind the bargeboards. If you have a loft that is open to the neighbour's, treatment on one side only moves the problem.

Where does the open ground come in?

Finchley has more green space than its traffic suggests. The Dollis Brook runs through Windsor Open Space and the Dollis Valley Greenwalk along the western edge of N3 and N12, and Mutton Brook crosses the south of N2 near the Garden Suburb. Cherry Tree Wood and Highgate Wood border East Finchley, and Victoria Park sits between Church End and Ballards Lane. The Northern line runs on the surface through all three districts, with embankments behind many gardens. Brooks, woods and railway banks support rats, foxes and wasp nests, and gardens backing onto them see more of each. Bird feeders, compost and decking are usually what bring rats from the brook into a garden.

Which pests are most common in Finchley?

Mice in flats and terraces throughout the year, wasps in roofs and gardens from June to September, bed bugs in homes with a high turnover of occupants, clothes moths in older houses, and rats in gardens near the brooks and the railway. Pharaoh ants, which live in heated buildings and spread through blocks of flats, appear now and then and need a bait programme rather than a spray. Honey bee swarms in May and June are not pests; contact a local beekeeper or the British Beekeepers Association swarm list.

Which council covers Finchley?

N2, N3 and N12 are in the London Borough of Barnet, apart from the eastern part of N2, which is in Haringey. An occupier must notify the council of a substantial number of rats or mice under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. The council's website says whether it offers or charges for treatment. An enquiry here is separate from that notification.

What helps with a Finchley enquiry?

• whether you are in a flat, a converted house or a whole house, and who manages the building
• which rooms are affected and whether neighbours have the same
• whether the garden backs onto a brook, a wood or the railway
• your postcode and a phone number you answer