PPC121 | PESTS IN THE PRESS

As always, wasps were a recurring theme over the summer, with BPCA’s press release ‘A strong summer for wasps’ featuring in print and digital publications as well as across the regional news network.

With coverage on ITV Central Midlands East and West, Yorkshire Belmont and Emley Moor, Tyne Tees, Anglia East and West, Meridian East, Thames Valley and South Coast, West and West Country Region, in August, wasps certainly played a key role in getting BPCA’s name broadcast across the nation!

In July, a previous press release about pigeons re-surfaced in around 60 regional news websites, following the return of the ‘Are you allowed to punch a seagull if it tries to steal your food?’ story which seems to be a favourite re-run for local newspapers.

Flying ants and the June articles on Tapinoma Magnum did spill over into July, with major news platforms including the Daily Mail and Thisismoney.co.uk running the story.

A flurry of media enquiries and coverage came about in late July, when LadBible was among the first to publish a photograph of a 22-inch rat caught by pest controllers at a property in North Yorkshire.

A BPCA press release about raccoons being featured in the Top 20 species most likely to become invasive in Britain over the next 10 years also garnered some coverage in local and regional press.

And the media enquiries kept coming in, this time in the form of reader questions from national newspapers with a focus on pests.

As August drew to a close, BPCA was approached by the Climate Editor for the BBC and reached out to members via social media for potential filming opportunities for a story about rat populations and any correlation to a warming climate, with a view to exploring rat control methods such as dogs, tracking dust and cameras.

BPCA also worked with sector-specific titles to highlight the importance of professional pest management to decision-makers in the public and private sectors.

A story based on a survey of pest sightings in hospitals by UNISON from earlier in the year formed the basis of an exclusive article for Tomorrow’s Cleaning in July and in August, we approached the team at the Society of Food Hygiene & Technology, creating a bespoke article for the Back to Basics autumn edition of their magazine SOFHT Focus, detailing the fundamental principles of professional pest management, the importance of being pest aware and offering insight into SPIs.

Looking ahead, carpet beetles, Canada geese and wood mice are all on the agenda for press and PR, with plans to also work with titles in Facilities Management and Farming as we move towards the end of the year.

Top 3 headlines

Rat the size of a dog found in home - The Times
Boffins want us to ‘hug-a-wasp’ as legions of them sting their way across Britain - Daily Star
Raccoons could become UKs next invasive pest threat - Wales Online

Total articles in 2025: 3,543

Total circulation in 2025: 802,892,964

Source: