Matthew Green rentokil.co.uk

I’m a laboratory-based entomologist who works at Rentokil’s European Technical Centre. I joined Rentokil in 2008 to set up and run research projects on the control of urban insect pests. Before Rentokil I worked for a consultancy that specialised in diagnosing timber defects in historic buildings, including wood-boring insect infestations and fungal decay. I own far too many books on urban insects and timber pests. When I’m not working you can usually find me playing board games and card games or fencing, occasionally.

Do you want flies with that?

Matt for rentokil.co.uk | May 11, 2012
ZZZZzzzzzzzt! It’s strangely reassuring, when queuing at a butcher’s or baker’s counter, to hear the noise of an insect meeting its doom on an ultra-violet light trap. It makes you feel safe in the knowledge that a fly isn’t going to land on the food you are about to buy. Would you feel the same [...]

Can Cockroaches Survive a Nuclear Blast?

Matt for rentokil.co.uk | March 6, 2012
Welcome to another instalment of urban [pest] myths with Matt. This time I’m looking into the history of the oldest chestnut in the book: ‘roaches versus bombs’. This one is quite tricky and needs to be broken down a bit to be investigated. First question is: Why cockroaches? Why not locusts or wasps for example? [...]

Pest Board Games

Matt for rentokil.co.uk | December 5, 2011
Christmas shopping is upon us. It’s the time of year when newspapers and magazines fill Christmas pull-out specials with gift ideas. Board games are often touted as the ideal way to spend some quality time over the festive season with your family. If you’ve ever played Monopoly by the actual rules you’ll know this is [...]

Termites Like Rock Music

Matt for rentokil.com | September 15, 2011
Time to get to the bottom of another odd pest ‘fact’. This Do Termites Like Rock Music blog piqued my interest: how on earth does that sort of pop-fact get generated without there being some grain of truth to it? As a starting point- it’s very specific, isn’t it? Not just any music- Rock Music. Bach [...]

Do Bees Have Legal Protection In The UK?

Matt for rentokil.co.uk | July 1, 2011
Welcome to what I hope will be a series of irregularly timed posts examining the truth behind various well worn ‘facts’ relating to urban pests. So, if you have ever wondered how exactly a cockroach could ever survive a nuclear holocaust, how ‘dry rot’ can be a fungus and grow without water or how a [...]