Peter McCarthy

Working in pest control means you are just as likely to be helping out in a 'posh' house as you are in a terraced home.

Peter McCarthy was previously a bus driver but joined the team eight years ago after completing a 13-week college course, training in the techniques of pest control.

"The work is very varied. We can be called out to homes, factories, takeaways - any sort of property - and the problems range from clearing drains to catching mice, from placing sticky traps for cockroaches to removing wasps' nests. Basically, if it has four, six or eight legs and its crawls or scuttles - we kill it!"

He tells the story of going under the floorboards at No 1 in a row of terraced houses, and frightening the woman to death when he appears in No 37.

"It's easy to get lost in roof space as well - if you knock on the wrong hatch you can give someone a shock!"

When he isn't chasing vermin, Peter can be found on mock battlefields, training with the Territorial Army.

If you would like information on getting rid of ants, cockroaches or wasps' nests please contact Salford Direct on 0161 909 6500.

This page was last updated on 3 October 2009