Perhaps my favourite kind of person is the one who thinks they can do your job better than you can. You know the type, the Harry Enfield character who just knows they would make a brilliant pest controller.

It seems to me they are often just bored in their own jobs, and they assume what we do is easy because all they see is us checking the occasional bait box. It isn’t uncommon to be asked if we have any jobs available. The answer is nearly always ‘no’.

Good pest control technicians are highly trained and have to cover a wide variety of roles. We see too many unqualified companies in dodgy vans who think it’s a case of spraying pesticides around the place.

Also, ‘pest controller’ isn’t a single job. There are a variety of roles that come under that umbrella – technician, field biologist, service management, training and quality assurance. I feel fortunate that Cleankill employs some amazing pest controllers, and that’s down to constant training and development.

So, what do I think makes a suitable candidate for a good pest controller?

Organised You need to be smart and tidy. You also need a vehicle that doesn’t look like it has been through a warzone and is well organised. Customers need to trust their pest controllers, and that isn’t going to happen if you look a mess.

Honest and truthful Integrity is a large part of our job. Sometimes customers ask you to do things that are unsafe, against company policy or even illegal. A good pest controller will resist, but in a nice way. These situations can be turned into a positive if you truly know your stuff and can give the client a suitable, legal alternative.

Reliable We often work alone, and this isn’t for everyone. Today, tracking devices are used to keep account of vehicles, so the unreliable ones don’t last for long. Customers are the most important people – if you make an appointment, you have to be there on time.

Practical Not everyone is MacGyver, but you do need a modicum of practical intelligence to do this job. Because we focus on prevention, not destruction, we must be able to work out how pests are entering a property and then ‘proof’ them out.  Oh, and did I mention the bags of pigeon waste you sometimes have to remove by hand!?! It isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Discreet People can be embarrassed or concerned about pest problems. For example, bed bugs are becoming a major problem. Imagine you are a hotelier who calls us in to deal with a potential problem; they don’t want that knowledge getting around because it could destroy their business.

Professional Not everyone deals with a pest problem rationally. It’s rare that we get Tom-and-Jerry levels of hysteria, but it does happen. You have to be the calm professional who is there to deal with the problem.

Knowledgeable Obviously, you’ll get training. We train all our pest controllers to a minimum of RSPH Level 2 – you’ll be amazed at what you need to know to pass that. In addition, you need to be constantly on top of new developments and techniques.

Safe – for the client, their family and animals, for you and for the general public. Recklessness, in any area, is not acceptable in modern pest control. The consequences can be devastating.

One of the things that makes me proud of Cleankill is the quality of employees we have. Constant training and development play their part, but we are also looking for the right kind of person. We have one of the best teams in the industry, but what keeps us there is a desire to constantly improve. It’s what drives all of us, from pest control technicians to directors. No one is perfect, but we can all strive to be better.