NEWS | PPC108 September 2022

Our regular PPC magazine feature, taking a look at public relations and how BPCA works with the press to educate the public about pest awareness.

Landlords

Engagement with landlords has been a recurring theme through the spring and into summer, as the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) featured a hat-trick of BPCA content, with a blog post to mark World Pest Day, as well as a webinar and a podcast featuring our very own Natalie Bungay

Activity in spring and summer

April started strong, with a double-page spread in Country Smallholding magazine about steps smallholders can take to deter rodents.

This was followed by BBC radio coverage for BPCA across the Midlands, thanks to presenter Caroline Martin.

An April press release explaining why the professionals should be called in if nesting birds pose a problem started to attract attention from regional newspapers across the country.

This was followed by advice on cockroaches, which saw BPCA garner further coverage in the regional press from Glasgow to Dorset.

BPCA was quoted in some of the more unusual pest-related stories in May, including:

Yorkshire Live Huddersfield mole catcher hits back at ‘snowflake’ critics who say he ‘murders’ animals 

Mail Online Giant rat that savagely attacked a brain-damaged bedbound pensioner, 76, leaving her face bloodied and bruised is caught in a cage trap – before neighbour shoots it dead with a pellet gun.

Further cementing BPCA as a voice of authority in the media when it comes to pest-related issues, the Association’s guidance was quoted in an online story in June. A video showed a swarm of wasps causing customers to flee a pub beer garden, and the story was featured on more than 30 national and regional news sites.

And, previously issued press releases relating to false widow spiders, ants, red spider mites and bed bugs have all resurfaced in the first half of the year, as journalists refer back to this information when researching new articles.

Flies and ‘things that go buzz’ gathered the majority of press coverage for July, with both covered in regional and national press, while the guide to buzzing insects also appeared in sector-specific titles such as Landscaping Matters.

Enquiries from the media in spring and summer included information requests from inews, BBC Radio Coventry and BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, as well as from trade titles such as Tomorrow’s Cleaning, Facilities Management Journal, Listed Heritage, Landlord Focus, Farming Monthly National, Facilitate Magazine, Ecclesiastical and Heritage World and the NRLA. Natalie was also invited to appear on GB News in mid-August, to talk about wasps.

BPCA continues to aim for a mix of regional and national press coverage that raises the profile of the Association among the general public, as well as tailored articles for specific sectors such as contract cleaning, facilities management, agriculture and hospitality.

Looking ahead to autumn

BPCA will keep the focus on insects, with releases planned for fleas, ticks and woodlice, as well as highlighting the likelihood of rodent issues as the weather turns colder.

Read all about it!

Spot something in the press? Idea for a press release? Tell us.

hello@bpca.org.uk

Source: PPC108