N.Z. Casino Staff Battle Pests With 'Flea Collars'

Staff at New Zealand's largest casino have resorted to wearing flea collars to combat a pest infestation, a report said Tuesday.

The staff at Auckland's SkyCity Casino were issued with insect spray to deal with an ongoing pest problem and some had taken to wearing pet flea collars around their ankles to discourage the insects, the New Zealand Herald reported.

"Some of them have them on (flea collars) to try and prevent being bitten," Unite Union national director Mike Treen told the newspaper.

"Some people react quite badly, get really bad spots, and it can affect their health and then result in time off. It's definitely a health and safety issue."

Treen said staff had been complaining about infestations on the casino floor for years and accused the management of refusing to close the casino, which is open 24 hours a day, for any length of time to combat the problem.

However, SkyCity management told the Herald the casino floors were cleaned every day and it was not aware of any complaints about insect bites.

"Most large carpeted buildings that are frequented by the public encounter some degree of an issue with biting insects," a SkyCity spokeswoman said.

"We have thorough proactive pest control measures in place and are confident that we are providing a safe and healthy facility for our staff and customers."