Not in My Backyard: Public Perceptions of Wildlife and 'Pest Control' in and around UK Homes, and Local Authority 'Pest Control'

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict occurs globally. Attempts to control 'pest' wildlife involve killing and harming the welfare of animals on a vast scale. We examined public perceptions of 10 wildlife species/groups and wildlife management, in and around UK homes, and public authority 'pest control' provision, in an effort to identify ethical, welfare-friendly ways to reduce conflict. Most people reported never having problems with each of the 10 species, and reported problems for some species were largely tolerated. Wasps, mice, and rats were the most frequently problematic species, the least tolerated, and those for which local authorities most often offered pest control services. Do-It-Yourself pest control was preferred over professional control, except for with wasps. People wanted control to be quick, lasting, and safe for people and non-target animals. Where people accepted lethal control, they were nevertheless concerned for animal welfare. Drivers of pest status were complex, while drivers of demand for control were fewer and species-specific. Local authority pest control provision increased over the four years studied, but only half of councils offered advice on preventing/deterring wildlife; this advice was patchy and variable in quality. Greater focus is required on preventing/deterring rather than controlling wildlife problems. Councils should provide standardised, comprehensive advice on prevention/deterrence and prevention/deterrence services.

Keywords: attitudes; mouse; pest; pest control; rat; tolerance; vermin; wasp; wildlife; wildlife management.

Figure 1

Mean attitude scores for each of the 10 species (n = 2000). Bars above the line represent positive attitudes and those below the line represent negative attitudes. Greater scores indicate more positive attitudes.

Figure 2

Relationship between whether people had experienced a problem with a species (percentage of people reporting) and whether they believed it to cause a problem generally in the UK (percentage of people believing) (n = 2000).

Figure 3

Traits attributed to: (a) rats; (b) mice; and (c) wasps (percentage of people attributing, n = 2000 per species). The traits are in order: ‘Eat our food’, ‘Enter homes’, ‘Spread disease to people’, ‘Attack people’, ‘Spread disease to pets/domestic poultry’, ‘Attack pets/domestic poultry’, ‘Damage property’, ‘Numbers are out of control’, ‘I’m afraid of them’, ‘None’.

Figure 4

Reported past control and predicted future control rates for 10 species. Past control and predicted future control for people with experience of problems with a species (n values for numbers with experience of a problem: mouse = 622, rat = 438, wasp = 688, mole = 118, rabbit = 47, squirrel = 132, pigeon = 185, fox = 177, badger = 41, gull = 120) and predicted future control for people with no experience of problems (n values for people with no experience of a problem: mouse = 1378, rat = 1562, wasp = 1312, mole = 1882, rabbit = 1953, squirrel = 1868, pigeon = 1815, fox = 1823, badger = 1959, gull = 1880).

Figure 5

Relationship between attitude scores (n = 2000) and tolerance (% taking no action) of problems with species. (n values for respondents with experience of a problem): rat = 438, wasp = 688, gull = 120, pigeon = 185, mouse = 622, squirrel = 132, mole = 118, fox = 177, rabbit = 47, badger = 41).

Figure 6

Control actions taken against 10 species where a problem was experienced in the past. Prof = Professional control service only, Prof&DIY = Professional control service and Do-It-Yourself control, DIY = Do-It-Yourself control only (percentage of people reporting, n values: badger = 41, fox = 177, mole = 118, mouse = 622, pigeon = 185, rabbit = 47, rat = 438, gull = 120, squirrel = 132, wasp = 688).

Figure 7

The importance of welfare-friendliness and non-lethality in choosing: (a) DIY pest control products; or (b) professional pest control services (n values as per Table 3). Positive importance scores (bars above horizontal axis) indicate that a factor is considered important in choosing control, and greater scores indicate greater importance.

Figure 8

Drivers of respondents’ experience of problems with rats (marginal effects in logistic regression models), including: (a) respondent age; (b) whether respondent lives in an urban or rural area; (c) region; (d) home age; and whether respondent (e) keeps poultry or outdoor pets; (f) has an outdoor feedstore; (g) makes compost; or (h) believes that rats damage property. Confidence Intervals are shown in grey. Geographical areas are: Southern England, Middle England, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Home age categories are: 1 = 21^st Century (≥2001), 2 = Post-World War II (1946–2000), 3 = Pre-World War II (1902–1945), 4 = Victorian (1837–1901), and 5 = Pre-Victorian (≤1836).

Figure 9

The proportion of UK councils providing each type of public pest control service out of all the councils providing a service in 2013/14 (n = 299), 2014/15 (n = 300), 2015/16 (n = 299), and 2016/17 (n = 299).

Figure 10

Annual proportion of councils offering public pest control per species out of all UK councils providing public pest control for one or more of the species selected for the study for 2013/14 (n = 299), 2014/15 (n = 300), 2015/16 (n = 299), and 2016/17 (n = 299).