Defender Installer of the Month | March | Fast Track Pest Control

The March Defender® Installer of the Month is Fast Track Pest Control for a textbook-perfect install of Defender® Wide Plastic Bird Spikes.

Paul Claydon runs Fast Track Pest Control is based in Essex and also covers Herts, North, East and Central London. Paul previously worked in London in the IT sector for 20 years, but needing a change of career, he turned to pest management, which suited his natural problem-solving skills. He started back in 2019 with a zero client book and over the last 5 years has really seen Fast Track go from strength to strength covering both domestic and commercial pest control.

Paul treats for all pests; rats, mice, squirrels wasps, hornets, flies, moles, cockroaches, bedbugs, moths, ants and of course birds – pigeons and seagulls. His aim is not just to remove unwanted pests for the customer, but also to ensure the property is properly proofed to prevent reinfestation and the customer is armed with the correct information going forward. Paul offers commercial contracts to ensure company staff, customers and contractors are working in safe environments. This will mean providing site folders which will include information such as COSHH and risk assessments, date sheets on any pesticides used, visit logs, staff sighting sheets, location maps of monitoring and bait points, reports on finding, hygiene, housekeeping…and the list goes on.

The bird-proofing job that won Paul and Fast Track Defender® Installer of the Month was a job in Winchmore Hill, North London. He was asked to tackle a really awkward access alley between two houses. Pigeons had been using the alley for nearly a year, with its many ledges and pipes perfect perching points for the birds and the mess they caused was quite considerable and causing the owners distress. This sort of area is perfect for pigeons as it provides not only multiple places to roost and nest but also keeps them directly out of the elements.

The first job is to conduct a full clean of the area, including every pipe and ledge that needs proofing as well as the walkway below. Once all the guano has been cleaned down, bagged up and disposed of, the areas needed treating with a bacterial chemical cleaner. These types of cleaners will ensure that all traces of bacteria and fungi that might cause harm to humans are destroyed. Once dry, Paul installed Defender® Wide Plastic Pigeon Spikes to all areas where pigeons may sit.

This install was chosen as it shows how to perfectly proof an area which has a lot of perching points. Pigeons can sit on an area as small as 2.5 cm so its essential time and effort is put into installing spikes everywhere – and this install demonstrates just that. Paul has installed spikes on every pipe and window ledge on both sides of the alley, even taking the time to silicone small pieces of spike on top of the highest vertical pipes – quite the feat to reach up there! Needless to say, Fast Track is an expert installer and considers all the health and safety implications in their risk assessments before starting a job.

Fast Track Pest Control is open to help customers with pest issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which means he never truly knows how his week is going to turn out. He can schedule jobs at the start of the week, but due to the nature of pest control, the unpredictability of working with animals, the weather and the time of year, his week will look completely different by the end.

Completing the jobs and leaving clients happy, relaxed and thankful gives huge satisfaction to Paul. There is nothing better than solving a pest issue for a customer, as often it can be very distressing for them to be living in close proximity to rodents, bed bugs and birds! In fact, he has made many good friends over the years by starting out as their pest controller.

Paul uses our Defender® Bird Spikes as he says they are by far the best quality compared to other bird products he has tried. He also was drawn to us as we are a UK manufacturer run by a small family team. He appreciates our customer service and the way we interact with our customers. He uses most of our Defender® range but particularly like the Defender® Solar Panel Excluders as they are lightweight and easy to use which is exactly what is needed when he finds himself in a challenging situation high up on a roof.

We always ask our winners for a funny pest control story. We really like this one! Paul told us: ‘A new client had an issue with Squirrels over a 5-month period which he had been trying to deal with himself. He had managed to catch 4 squirrels in about 4 weeks, in a cage in his loft, the problem was it was still happening and I received a call to come and help.

On arrival and inspection of the loft, I noticed the client's cage and also one entry point. When asked what he was doing with the squirrels once they were caught I was informed he was releasing them at the bottom of the garden. Chances are he had caught the same squirrel 4 times over!’

Huge congratulations to Paul Claydon of Fast Track Pest Control. We love your work and thank you for choosing Defender® Bird Spikes.

If you live in Essex, Herts, North, East or Central London and have a pest issue you need sorting, contact Fast Track Pest Control and he will help you find the ‘pest’ solution.