Does Croydon Council Do Pest Control? Charges, Cover and Alternatives

Yes. Croydon Council runs a chargeable pest control service, delivered in partnership with Southwark Council as its contractor. Council tenants may get some treatments free. Private tenants and owner-occupiers are charged for everything.

That makes Croydon one of the better-served London boroughs, because plenty now offer nothing at all. Whether the council is right for your particular problem is a different question.

What Croydon Council actually provides

According to the council’s own pest control pages, the service treats rat infestations at residential properties across the borough, whether the rats are inside or outside the home, along with a range of other pests.

• Council tenants: some treatments may be provided free of charge, others are chargeable.
• Private tenants and owner-occupiers: there is a charge for all treatments.
• Booking: appointments are booked online, with full charges shown before you confirm. You can change or cancel up to the day before.
• Preparation: bed bug and flea treatments require specific preparation beforehand. If it has not been done, the treatment may not go ahead and you will wait again.

The council states plainly that you are not obliged to use its service and that you can get quotes from other contractors, though those cannot be booked through the council.

Council or private: how to actually decide

This is not a loyalty question. It comes down to four things.

• How many visits are included. A headline price covering one visit is not cheaper than a higher price covering three. Rodent work needs two to three visits and bed bugs the same.
• How long the wait is. Council appointments are often days out. If there are rats in your kitchen, or you run a food business, that is the whole decision.
• Whether you need paperwork. Landlords, agents and businesses facing an Environmental Health visit need a written record of what was found and what was done.
• Whether the entry point gets fixed. Most council services treat the pest. Very few seal the hole it came through, which is why the problem returns the following autumn.

Where the council is usually the better option

• You are a Croydon Council tenant and the treatment is covered.
• Straightforward outdoor rat activity at a property you own, and you can wait for the appointment.

Where private is usually the better option

• Flats and blocks. This is the big one in Croydon. Cockroaches and mice travel through service risers and shared voids, so treating one flat in isolation often achieves very little. You need someone who will tell you that and put it in writing for the freeholder or managing agent.
• Anything urgent, particularly wasps near an entrance or rodents in a food business.
• Commercial premises, which the residential service does not cover.
• Bed bugs, where council charges across London tend to be highest.
• Recurring problems, which need proofing and sometimes drainage work rather than another treatment.

Why Croydon gets the problems it does

It is the largest and most varied borough we cover. Central Croydon has a dense commercial core and a large stock of converted flats and high-rise blocks, which is where the cockroach and bed bug work concentrates and where problems rarely stay inside one unit. Out towards Thornton Heath, South Croydon and Norbury the Victorian terraces bring the rodent work, usually through ageing drainage and suspended timber floors.

If you live in a block and your neighbours have the same problem, treating your flat alone is money spent twice.

Common questions

Last checked November 2026 against croydon.gov.uk. Council services and charges change — confirm the current position before booking.