JG Pest Control is open every day of the Christmas period except Christmas Day itself. Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, the whole window between Christmas and New Year, and New Year’s Eve are all normal trading days for us. While most of the pest control industry shuts from Christmas Eve through to 2 January, our phones are answered and our technicians are working from early morning to late evening. BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians, no Christmas surcharge, free quote on the phone.
If you have a rat in the restaurant kitchen on the 27th, mice in the office store room between Christmas and New Year, or a wasps’ nest somebody finally noticed when putting up festive decorations in the loft, we will get to you. Same response, same price, same guarantee as any other day of the year.
Closed Christmas Day. Open every other day of the festive period.
Christmas Day is the one day all year we close. That is our entire downtime. Every other day from Christmas Eve through to the end of the New Year window, we are open as normal.
The Christmas pest control gap most firms create
If you call a typical UK pest control firm on 23 December and they pick up, they will most likely tell you they are about to close until 2 January. Independents shut for the family, national chains move calls to an out-of-hours service that just books you in for the first working day of the new year. Local authority pest control teams are closed across almost every borough and council in the country from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. The result is a ten-day window where pest infestations can establish, expand and damage premises without intervention.
JG Pest Control was built to close that gap. Our phones are answered every day of the Christmas window except Christmas Day. Our technicians are out on standard rounds. Our equipment, including specialist bed bug heat treatment kit, runs as normal. There is no skeleton service, no out-of-hours diversion, no surcharge. It is simply a normal trading week.
That makes us a default option through the festive window for hospitality groups, hotel chains, food production sites, retail centres, schools, healthcare providers and any business that cannot afford to wait until the new year to deal with a pest issue.
Christmas window cover
- Christmas Eve: open
- Christmas Day: closed (only day all year)
- Boxing Day: open
- 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th: open
- New Year’s Eve: open
- New Year’s Day: open
- 2 January onwards: open
For Christmas period pest control across the UK, call 0330 053 9002
What we are honest about: Christmas Day
We are closed on Christmas Day. That is the one day of the year our office is shut and our technicians are not on call. It is the only downtime we take, and we think being honest about it matters more than pretending we are 365 days a year. We re-open at normal hours on Boxing Day morning.
If you have a genuine pest emergency on Christmas Day itself, the practical advice is:
- For wasps in a living space: close the door to the room, seal any gaps under the door with a towel, keep children and pets out. Call us first thing on Boxing Day.
- For a rat or mouse sighting: remove all food, including pet food, from the area. Cover any food waste in a sealed bin or bag in a hard container. Call us first thing on Boxing Day.
- For a wasps’ nest in a loft or outbuilding: close the loft hatch and stay out of the space. Wasp nests do not get materially worse in 24 hours. Call us on Boxing Day.
- For bed bugs: bag up bedding and leave it sealed. Vacuum the mattress and bed frame, dispose of the vacuum bag immediately in an outdoor bin. Call us on Boxing Day.
- For commercial emergencies: if the issue compromises trading on Boxing Day, call us at 7am on Boxing Day and we will prioritise the call. Same-day cover is the standard.
The honest framing is this: 364 days a year is more than any of our competitors and is enough to handle every real pest situation that comes up. Christmas Day itself is a 24-hour window we ask our technicians to be with their families. We think that is fair.
Christmas Day emergencies
Seal the room, remove food, keep pets and children clear. Call us at 7am Boxing Day. We will prioritise.
Booking before Christmas Eve
For anyone reading this in the run-up to Christmas: if you already know you have a pest issue, the best move is to book a treatment in the week before Christmas Eve. That clears the problem before the festive shutdown, removes any risk of escalation during the period guests are visiting, and lines up with our quietest window for technician availability.
If a problem emerges during the festive period, we are still open and we will still attend. Bookings before Christmas Eve are a smoother experience for both sides, but they are not a requirement. Pick up the phone whenever the issue comes up.
Pre-Christmas treatments we handle most often
- Rat or mouse baiting and proofing: closes off the property before festive food storage starts.
- Loft inspection: picks up wasp nests, squirrel activity or rodent harbourage before the decorations come out.
- Commercial site survey: baseline assessment before the skeleton staffing of the festive period.
- Bed bug heat treatment: guest rooms cleared before family arrives to stay.
- Fly and cluster fly treatment: domestic loft and roof void treatments, common in older properties as autumn turns to winter.
Pest problems that peak over Christmas
Predictable patterns emerge in the festive period, driven by closures, weather, food, and travel. The biggest categories:
Rodent migration into closed premises
The single largest Christmas pest issue. Rats and mice exploit the absence of human activity in offices, restaurants, schools, retail units and small commercial sites. Within 48 hours of the building going quiet, rodents already living in nearby drains, walls and roof voids start exploring further. Within five days, an active infestation can be in place. Most are only discovered when staff return in the new year.
Hospitality kitchen pressure
Restaurants, pubs and hotels running through Christmas are under pressure: extra covers, longer hours, more food in store, reduced cleaning schedules. The combination favours rodent and fly activity. Christmas catering also generates more carbohydrate waste (bread, pastry, root vegetable peelings) which is the highest-value food source for rats.
Loft and roof void issues becoming visible
Putting up Christmas decorations in the loft is when families notice droppings, gnawed cables, dormant wasp nests, or squirrel nesting. The loft is the part of the home most people see only once or twice a year, and Christmas is one of those times. December and early January are peak loft-discovery callout months.
Bed bug activity in guest rooms
Spare bedrooms used by visiting family over Christmas. Mattresses that have not been moved or inspected for months. Bedding that has been sealed away in a guest room since the previous Christmas. Bed bug calls spike in early January as guests return home and report bites.
Cluster flies and dormant wasps
Cold weather drives cluster flies and overwintering wasp queens to gather in lofts and roof voids. Festive heating warms the void slightly, which can trigger emergence. Calls about hundreds of flies appearing on landing windows in late December are routine.
Pigeon and gull pressure on closed retail
Shopping centres and high streets reopening after Christmas Day often find pigeon fouling on signage, walkways and roof areas that has accumulated unchecked. The closure window allows roosting and nesting to advance without disturbance.
Same-day Christmas period coverage
Same-day cover is standard across London, Greater Manchester, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Yorkshire (Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford), the North East (Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham), the South West (Bristol, Bath, Exeter), Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hertfordshire and the rest of the Home Counties. Other parts of mainland UK are typically same-day or next-day at the latest.
Out of hours, our national line on 0330 053 9002 rolls 24/7 and is answered by a real person. Late evening callouts between Christmas and New Year are routine.
Related pages
- Bank holiday pest control – full UK bank holiday cover
- Boxing Day pest control – the day after most of the industry shuts
- New Year pest control – NYE and New Year’s Day cover
- 24-hour pest control – always-on emergency line
- Commercial pest control – standing arrangements
What you get over Christmas
- Phone answered by a real person
- Same-day callout standard
- BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians
- No festive surcharge
- Full written guarantee
- Environmental health records
For Christmas period pest control across the UK, call 0330 053 9002
Frequently Asked Questions: Christmas Pest Control
Are you open over the Christmas period?
Yes. Every day of the Christmas period except Christmas Day itself. That means Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are all standard trading days. The only day we are closed all year is Christmas Day.
What if I have an emergency on Christmas Day?
We are honest about Christmas Day: we are closed. Seal off the affected room, remove pets and food, and call us at 7am on Boxing Day morning. We prioritise overnight Christmas Day calls and we will be on site as fast as possible. For most pest issues, 24 hours of containment will not change the treatment outcome.
Do you charge more over Christmas and the festive period?
No. There is no festive surcharge, no bank holiday surcharge, no weekend surcharge. The quote on the 27th of December is the same one you would get on the 27th of any other month. Every job priced on the visit, free quote on the phone.
Should I book pest control before Christmas Eve?
If you already know there is a problem, yes. Booking in the week before Christmas Eve clears the issue before guests arrive and before the festive food shopping fills cupboards. We are typically less busy in mid-December than we are in the week after Boxing Day, so technician availability is better.
I run a restaurant. Will you be available between Christmas and New Year?
Yes. The Christmas-to-New-Year week is one of our busiest commercial periods. We prioritise hospitality callouts and offer pre-opening inspection slots so the premises can be cleared and signed off before service. Many of our restaurant and hotel clients have a standing arrangement specifically for this window.
Most of the local pest firms in my area are closed until 2 January. Is that normal?
Yes, unfortunately. The pest control industry overwhelmingly closes from Christmas Eve to 2 January. That is the gap we built JG to close. We are one of a small number of national operators that runs full trading hours through the entire festive period.
Are your technicians qualified?
Every job is carried out by a BPCA Level 2 Certified Technician, the recognised UK industry qualification for pest management. JG Pest Control was founded in 2010 and has 15 plus years of experience covering Christmas period callouts across the UK.
Will my local council come out over Christmas?
Almost certainly not. Local authority pest control teams across the UK are closed from Christmas Eve through to 2 January in the vast majority of boroughs and councils. Private pest control is the only option in most areas during the festive shutdown.
What if I just want a free quote, not a treatment?
Call us. Quotes are free, on the phone, no commitment to book. We can give you a firm price range for the most likely treatment plan based on what you describe, and you decide whether to proceed.
Do you cover bed bug heat treatment during the Christmas period?
Yes. Our heat treatment service runs throughout the festive window. Bed bug heat treatment is a single-visit job that kills every life stage including eggs, and our heat treatment teams work the same hours as the rest of the business. See our bed bug heat treatment page for full detail.
For pest control across the Christmas period, call 0330 053 9002
