Sector

05 January 2021

2021 Covid-19 lockdowns: what do pest professionals need to know?

With England and Scotland announcing national lockdowns, Wales in tier 4 restrictions and Northern Ireland tightening measures – we take a moment to highlight some of BPCA’s Covid-19 guidance for the sector and answer your top questions.

Lockdown 2021 pest advice pest control BPCA

Can you go to work?

Yes. Guidance in all nations is still that if you can’t work from home you should continue to go to work.

Should you go to work? Is it safe?

That’s for you, your employer and your risk assessment to decide. We still strongly suggest you decide which work to take on a job-by-job basis. Check out our Becoming Covid-Secure Guidance documents (free to download).

Guidance document

Are pest professionals key/critical workers? Can I send my children to school?

Yes, pest professionals are key/critical workers.

Remember, key/critical worker status is currently only used for allowing children to remain in school during a lockdown. Everyone who cannot work from home is still permitted to go to work (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). Tradespeople are still permitted to go into people’s homes and businesses.

Pest professionals are considered critical due to our protection of “food and other necessary goods” by the UK government (confirmed by Defra on 13 May 2020).

Northern Ireland and much of Scotland’s Local Authorities have also confirmed that they consider pest management to be critical.

The only devolved administration that is yet to explicitly confirm pest professionals are key/critical workers is Wales.

BPCA members can download a letter template here (member login required).

Download letter template

For more information on national measures see:

England: Covid-19 rules
Wales: Covid-19 rules
Scotland: Covid-19 rules
Northern Ireland: Covid-19 rules.

Is the BPCA guidance up-to-date?

Yes, BPCA’s Covid-secure guidance can still be applied. You can download the latest guidance document here (free to download).

Covid-secure guidance for pest management companies

You can check out our Covid-19 webpage for all the latest details on pest management and Covid-19.

Covid-19 hub

What if clients won’t let us on site?

You must respect your client’s decision, however, we have created some guidance for your client to help convince them to continue to give you access.

Members can download the flyer here.

Client flyer

MORE SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE

Members can contact the team for bespoke support and help. We’re happy to help you by phone, email or using the live chat on our website.

hello@bpca.org.uk
01332 294 288

For our latest guidance, head to
bpca.org.uk/covid19

Source: Online

Highlights View all news

25 November 2025

Latest news

BPCA responds to Scottish Parliament’s Good Food Nation proposals

BPCA has been working to ensure professional pest management stays firmly on the radar of MSPs, following a call for views from the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. 

Read more

01 September 2025

Latest news

Policy Watch: New rules on wages, contracts and vehicles explained

Rosina Robson, Chief Executive of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA), outlines key policy changes on the horizon that could affect pest management companies and technicians.

Read more

27 August 2025

Latest news

BPCA challenges failings in glue trap legislation 

BPCA has stepped up its campaign to fix the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022 after new undercover footage showed retailers still selling and advising on the illegal use of glue traps. 

Read more
Latest View all news

10 December 2025

Latest news

Opening doors to the next generation of pest professionals

Rosina Robson highlights how BPCA’s new pestcareers.org.uk hub and supporting initiatives aim to attract a more diverse and skilled workforce into pest management.

Read more

09 December 2025

Latest news

Break-back traps under pressure: roundtable

At PPC Live 2025 in Harrogate, a small group of pest professionals gathered around a table to tackle one of the most deceptively simple tools in the pest controller’s kit: the break-back trap.

Read more

09 December 2025

Latest news

The art of paw: understanding the strategies of rodent control

Alex Wade joined us at a BPCA Digital Forum to discuss a fresh way of handling rodent control, by adding integrated risk management (IRM) into our thinking.

Read more