THE URBAN PEST ADVISORY SERVICE OF ZURICH (SWITZERLAND) AND THE SITUATION OF SOME SELECTED PESTS

Abstract:
The Urban Pest Advisory Service with three part-time employees is responsible for the hygienic aspects concerning urban pests in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. The city has a surface of 9,200 hectares and 360,000 inhabitants. The main fields of work are the following: 1. to give advice to the public and the local pest control companies (animal species identification) in cases of pest incidence and infestations, 2. pest control in public areas (mainly rats) and city owned buildings, 3. survey (monitoring) of the pest situation in the city of Zurich and 4. public relations. We developed a computer data base allowing us to monitor pest incidence at specific locations and over time. We give approximately 2,000 consultations yearly concerning pests and their control. Thanks to our data base and a systematic recording of cases, the development of various problematic pest populations (cockroaches, pharao ants, rats etc.) can now be traced over years. We present the frequency of the most-reported pests and the development of the cockroach situation of the last 5 years. Blattella germanica (L.), Supella longipalpa (F.) and Blatta orientalis L. occur in the ratio 17.45 : 3.75 : 1. The significant decrease of cockroaches in the last 5 years is due to the decreasing occurrence of B. germanica. The indigenous species Ectobius lapponicus (L.) shows no significant change during the last 5 years.