Ladykillers: Pest Detectives

Series following four female pest controllers as they do battle with Britain’s most common household pests. Infestations of bed bugs, rats, clothes moths and more are making life a misery in homes across the UK. The ladykillers use specialist cameras to provide a scary close-up of the pests for the homeowners and to help find the best way to get rid of these unwelcome intruders.

A family facing the nightly terror of a bed-bug infestation calls in Imogen, who takes a scientific approach to pest control. Her research reveals what is making the modern bed bug a tougher menace to control than ever before, and she comes up with an ingenious solution to rid the long-suffering family of their parasitic intruders.

Elsewhere a case of rats in a smart suburban street leads Deborah on a hunt to find whose garden is harbouring the pests, with surprising results. And a city farm has double trouble with pigeons and rats.

Originally broadcast on BBC2, Wednesday 25 March 2015.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some bright spark saw a boxed set of Ealing comedies going for a quid which gave them the idea for The Ladykillers: Pest Detectives. In a show about vermin, humanity lay thick on the ground – Matt Baylis, Daily Express

The title suggested that we’d be finding out what drives female rat-catchers and pest inspectors, who make up just 6 per cent of the workforce in a male-dominated profession. But the answer to that one was too obvious — it’s a job. Why on earth shouldn’t a woman do it? –  Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

It was fascinating to see how typically “female” personality traits of empathy and sensitivity might well be what makes these pest detectives so skilled at their jobs, but The Ladykillers didn’t delve deep enough into why anyone would choose to spend their days catching rats. Still, with three episodes to go, perhaps we will discover the allure of rodent negotiation – Lucy Jones, The Telegraph

Hang on though, an actual statistic, snuck in among the feelgood girl – and bedbug – power. The percentage of women like Imogen working in the field of pest control? Less than six! Boo! What is this, 1995? – Sam Wollaston, The Guardian