Alan Day, Team Leader for Cleankill Pest Control’s Bird Control Team, has been shortlisted in the Pest Controller of the Year category of this year’s National Pest Awards.
Pest Controller of the Year recognises pest control technicians who are committed to their work and who demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism. Entrants must be well informed about new and current products and able to show how they use this knowledge to benefit of customers and the business.
Alan joined Cleankill in 2014. Initially he was a pest control technician but in 2017 he started the falconry team. This has now developed into a four-strong team led by Alan. In addition, he also oversees the netting team and gives technical advice on all aspects of pest control related to birds.
Alan is constantly looking for new ways to combine the various tools in the bird control team’s arsenal to get better results. This could mean flying the Harris hawks alongside the use of laser pens and audible bird scarers or, under licence, egg removal. He has multiple pest control qualifications and has earned himself a Lantra qualification in Professional Falconry.
This combination of knowledge, experience and professionalism has made Alan the ‘go-to’ person for questions about bird management, surveys and the training and use of birds of prey. He also acts as the company’s point of contact for talks and demonstrations about the benefits of using birds of prey in pest control.
Cleankill Managing Director Paul Bates said: “We subcontracted our falconry work for many years but, when Alan joined the company it became clear he had a real passion of birds of prey and their use in pest control. So in 2017 we took a chance and started our own bird control team. Initially, it was just Alan and we only offered the service for two days a week. Things have changed since then and, under Alan’s expert guidance, the team is now four-strong and the birds are out every day.
“As a company, what we like about using the hawks is that they are not only highly effective, but they are also ‘green’. Harris hawks rarely attack nuisance birds like pigeons and gulls - instead their very presence, even once a week, dissuades the birds from roosting and nesting. In eight years, Alan has turned an idea into a highly successful part of the business and it now operates all across the South of England.”
Commenting on his nomination, Alan said: “I am extremely proud to be shortlisted for Pest Controller of the Year at the National Pest Awards. It is a brilliant acknowledgement of a lot of hard work done by myself and the others in the bird control team to turn what was just an idea in 2017 into a viable and successful service.
“Working with birds of prey is a 24-hour, 7 day a week, 365 days a year job. We can’t just forget about our work in the evening and at the weekends because the birds need our attention all the time. That’s what I love about it, my birds are just as much my colleagues as everyone else at CleankillI and together we get to do a brilliant job where we can really see the benefits of the service we provide to our customers.”
Now in their fifth year, the National Pest Awards recognise excellence and outstanding practice across the pest control industry. They are organised by Pest Magazine, in association with the British Pest Control Association (BPCA), National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA) and PROMPT Register.
Winners of the 2023 awards will be announced at a black-tie event on 7th September at the Hilton London Bankside.