Episode 11
18 April 2011 - Help! My House is Infested
At a time when infestations are reaching epidemic levels Sarah and co use the latest technology and gadgets to seek and destroy moths, rats and bedbugs that are causing damage not only to the home, but also to people's lives and health.
Moths cause hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in damage to clothes and furnishings. Sarah meets architect Kate Grose, whose clothes are being eaten away in her two bed maisonette, and brings in moth expert Paul Bates who shows where to look for the pests all over the house, and most importantly, how to be rid of them.
With rats set to outnumber humans by three to one, Sarah brings expert rat catcher Jim England to the family home of Stuart and Lynne Gould, who for three years have been trying to stop an infestation of rats above the ceilings over their heads. Sarah and Jim use tracking dust and special cameras to find how the rats are getting in, and have to bring in the builders to protect the house from invasion.
And with Britain in the grip of a bed bug epidemic, Sarah brings expert Mark Astley to help Tania Ives who has been forced to sleep in just one room with her five children by an infestation. Mark uses new techniques like extreme heat to exterminate the bloodsucking creatures, and even a trained sniffer dog, but it's still a battle to win Tania's home back for her family.
The programme is full of helpful tips for viewers on how to prevent infestations, with information on how to detect them, how pests and vermin behave, what dangers they pose, and how to get rid of them. The show also looks at the different ways to deter the presence of foxes at home.
