JG Pest Control is open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. While most of the pest control industry is closed from Christmas Eve through to 2 January, our phones are answered and our technicians are working from early morning to late evening on both days. BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians on every callout, no New Year surcharge, free quote on the phone.
New Year’s Day is one of our highest-demand days for both commercial and domestic callouts. Pubs and restaurants reopening after NYE find rodents in kitchens. Hotel housekeepers find bed bugs in guest rooms after the party crowd has left. Families notice rat droppings while clearing up after a New Year’s Eve gathering. We answer the phone and we get to you.
Open NYE and New Year’s Day
Both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are standard trading days for us. The only day all year we are closed is Christmas Day.
Hospitality pest pressure after New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve is the highest-pressure single trading night in the UK hospitality calendar. Pubs and restaurants run extended hours, kitchens push out a far higher cover count than a normal night, food waste piles up faster than collection can clear it, and bin areas stay loaded into the early hours of New Year’s Day. By the time the duty manager arrives on the morning of 1 January, rodent activity around bin stores is often already evident.
The follow-on pressure on commercial kitchens is significant. Fly activity from food residue, mouse and rat droppings in dry stores, and ant activity in any premises with sugar spillage all surge in the days after NYE. We are open and running same-day callouts through New Year’s Day and the rest of the first week of January.
Common New Year callouts
- Pub kitchen rodent droppings
- Restaurant bin area rats
- Hotel guest room bed bugs
- Office store room mice
- Domestic rodent sightings
- Fly activity in food waste areas
- Cluster fly emergence in lofts
For New Year period pest control, call 0330 053 9002
The January infestation reset
The week between Christmas and New Year is the highest-risk window in the UK pest control calendar. Commercial premises closed for ten days, domestic kitchens loaded with festive food, reduced waste collections, mild weather in many years. Rodent populations exploit all of it. By the time premises reopen and families return to normal routines in the first week of January, infestations that started in mid-December are visible and active.
We treat the first two weeks of January as a reset window. The pattern of callouts is predictable: domestic rat sightings as homes return to normal, commercial rodent reports as offices and restaurants reopen, bed bug callouts from guests returning from holiday stays, and a wave of cluster fly and overwintering wasp queen calls as heating systems come back on full and disturb dormant populations in lofts.
Same-day cover is the standard across all major UK cities throughout the New Year period. We run additional technicians in central London, Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle specifically to handle the January demand peak.
January reset bookings
Early January is our highest-volume week. Book your reopening inspection in advance to lock in a slot.
New Year’s Eve specific cover
NYE itself is a normal trading day for us. The phone is answered, technicians are on the road, and we can attend callouts through the day and into the evening. This matters most for the hospitality sector: a pub or restaurant that spots a pest issue on the morning of NYE cannot afford to cancel a fully booked evening service. We prioritise these calls and offer same-day commercial response.
For domestic callers, NYE is also a high-demand day. The most common scenario is a household preparing to host a party that morning realises there is a wasps’ nest in the loft that has been visible for weeks, or that the scratching they have been ignoring is in fact a rodent in the wall cavity. We get to as many of these as we can on the day, and any we cannot reach are booked in for first thing on New Year’s Day morning.
NYE commercial cover sectors
- Pubs and bars running NYE events
- Restaurants with NYE tasting menus
- Hotels with NYE gala packages
- Event venues hosting parties
- Catering kitchens producing NYE food
- Nightclubs reopening for NYE after Christmas closure
What spikes in the first week of January
Predictable patterns drive our New Year callout demand. The biggest categories:
Rodent reports from reopening commercial sites
Offices, schools, retail units, restaurants, pubs, leisure centres and warehouses reopening after Christmas closure account for around 40% of our commercial calls in the first week of January. Many infestations established themselves in week one of the closure window and are only spotted when staff return.
Bed bug callouts from returning travellers
People returning from Christmas and New Year stays, both UK and overseas, occasionally bring bed bugs back with them in luggage. The first signs (bites that did not appear on the morning of return, small dark spots on bedding) usually show up three to seven days after travel. Our bed bug callout volume peaks in the second week of January for that reason.
Domestic rat sightings post-Christmas clean
Families clearing kitchens, sorting recycling, and putting away the last of the festive food often find rat or mouse droppings that were not visible during the busy Christmas period. Callouts spike in the first ten days of January.
Squirrel activity in lofts
Grey squirrels are particularly active in January as they begin breeding. Loft activity is at its most visible and audible in the first three weeks of the new year. Many callers report scratching for the first time during the festive period when the house is quieter than usual.
Cluster fly emergence
Cluster flies overwinter in lofts and roof voids and emerge when temperatures rise. Festive heating, especially in older properties, can trigger early emergence. Calls about hundreds of flies on landing windows and bedroom curtains are routine in the New Year window.
Wasp queen disturbance
Overwintering wasp queens in lofts are occasionally disturbed during festive activities (decorations going up or coming down, lofts being accessed for storage). Calls about lone wasps appearing inside the house in January almost always trace back to a queen wakened from dormancy in the loft.
Same-day New Year 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 NYE callouts and early morning New Year’s Day callouts are routine.
Related pages
- Bank holiday pest control – full UK bank holiday cover
- Christmas pest control – Christmas Eve through New Year window
- Boxing Day pest control – the day after most of the industry shuts
- 24-hour pest control – always-on emergency line
- Commercial pest control – standing arrangements
What you get on NYE / New Year’s Day
- Phone answered by a real person
- Same-day cover standard
- BPCA Level 2 Certified Technicians
- No New Year surcharge
- Full written guarantee
- Hospitality priority slots
For New Year period pest control, call 0330 053 9002
Frequently Asked Questions: New Year Pest Control
Are you open on New Year’s Eve?
Yes. NYE is a standard trading day for us. Phone answered, technicians on the road, full callout service. We prioritise hospitality calls on NYE because we know a pub or restaurant cannot afford to lose the evening service.
Are you open on New Year’s Day?
Yes. New Year’s Day is also a standard trading day. It is one of our highest demand days of the year for commercial reopening callouts. The phone is answered from early morning.
Do you charge more on NYE or New Year’s Day?
No. No bank holiday surcharge, no weekend surcharge, no evening surcharge on standard callouts. The quote is the same as any normal day. Every job priced on the visit, free quote on the phone first.
I run a restaurant that reopens on 2 January. Can you do a pre-opening inspection?
Yes. We routinely run pre-opening inspections on New Year’s Day or early 2 January morning. Slots fill up quickly so book in advance if you can. The pattern: a technician walks the kitchen, store rooms and bin areas before service, identifies any issues that established during the closure, and clears or treats as required. Full written record provided.
What pests are most common in the first week of January?
Rats and mice dominate. Commercial reopening callouts for rodent activity in kitchens, store rooms and back-of-house areas account for the majority of our January workload. Bed bug callouts also peak in the second week of January as guests return from holiday stays. Cluster flies and disturbed wasp queens drive a smaller but predictable wave of loft callouts.
I think I have rats from clearing up after the New Year’s Eve party. What should I do?
Call us. Most domestic rat callouts are wrapped up in one or two visits. The technician will identify the species, locate entry points and harbourage, install bait or trapping as appropriate, and proof the entry points to prevent return. Free quote on the phone, every job priced on the visit.
Can you cover commercial sites that need to reopen by 2 January?
Yes, this is one of our highest-volume use cases. We run pre-opening inspections from 30 December through 2 January for offices, schools, restaurants, retail units and food production sites. Many of our clients have a standing arrangement specifically for this window.
Will my local council come out over New Year?
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 New Year window.
For New Year period pest control across the UK, call 0330 053 9002
