IF THERE’S one man in Oxford who doesn’t make a pest of himself, it’s Tony Brind.

As the city council’s pest controller, it’s Mr Brind’s job to answer calls for help from homeowners worried about infestation.

During his 23 years working for the Oxford City Council, he has seen it all, including a family of feral cats living in a college’s organ.

Mr Brind, 50, said: “We get things falling down chimneys, like pigeons.

“If people hear scratching, that’s the sort of thing we investigate.

“When people pass away and are not discovered for a month or two I’ve got to deal with the pest side of things, like bluebottles. We do lots of bedbugs in houses of multiple occupation with a fast turnover.”

But it is not all about creepie-crawlies. Mr Brind added: “We get people phoning up when their smoke alarm goes low on batteries and they hear a beeping noise.”

Like many things, Mr Brind’s work changes with the seasons.

He said: “This is the time of year when wasps start kicking off and they can go through to November.

“In winter we deal with squirrels, rats and pigeons.

“There are areas of the city that seem to suffer more than others – the east, for example, and some of the estates which border agricultural land, like Barton.

“These pests want a place to live with a regular source of food.”

Oxford City Council began charging for the services of Mr Brind and his team in April as part of budget cuts. Getting rid of rats now costs £28 – though it’s free for those on benefits.

Ridding your house of bedbugs is the most expensive treatment at £200, or £100 for those on benefits.

Mr Brind, who grew up in Old Marston, is a self-confessed animal lover and began working for his uncle’s pest control company when he was 18 years old.

He said: “I was always into wildlife. I go up to Wales quite a bit and watch the kites.

“I used to go shooting but now I think I’ve gone a bit soft.”

Council spokesman Louisa Dean said there had been a reduction of 39 per cent in the number of rat treatments between April and June this year compared with the same period last year.

She added: “This is down to a combination of the harsh winter, the introduction of charging and the current financial climate.

“It is difficult to split out the income from pest control as the budget is mixed in with the dog warden service, however it represented approximately 25 per cent of the cost of the service before April 1, 2011, because of the discounts provided to residents on benefits.

“It remains to be seen what effect charging for rats and mice this year will have on this percentage until the end of the financial year.”