For hundreds of years Rats have been regarded as vermin that can carry and spread disease and can cause devastation to home and business owner alike.
The following footage was taken in a Middlesbrough backstreet and it shows a back alley teeming with rodents.
http://https://vimeo.com/652000890
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/652000890
The Dangers of Rats getting into a home or a business can not only be expensive to take care of but can also be lethal. Rats carry diseases such as Weils, E-Coli and Salmonella and with their razor sharp teeth can chew through electrical cables with ease which could potentially lead to house fires.
I spoke to Alan Gill of Exopest Limited, a private pest control service based on Teesside.
Alan has been a Pest Controller for over 20 Years and he told me just how much this problem is spiralling out of control in Middlesbrough.
“We have seen our call outs for Rat Control in Middlesbrough go up 50% in the last 18 Months and we have had to increase our work force”
So what is causing the problem? Alan says that the waste and rubbish routines of local residents is encouraging the Rats as well as the high number of take-away and sit down eateries in TS1 making the area a haven for rodents.
“A high percentage of TS1 residents now throw sacks of refuse into the back alley, giving a constant food source and that is growing some big rats. I caught a 20 inch rat above a kebab shop last year, it was only an inch off the record.
“In the town centre there is so many more fast food eateries and so much more fast food rubbish in the shop yards now than years ago”
Alan also claims that the intelligence of the creatures themselves and resistance to traditional Rodenticides are to blame. He warned:
“Don’t underestimate Rats, they are vermin but they are clever animals. They can dig under properties 24hrs a day and can’t be seen”
“Most Rats in Middlesbrough, in my experience, are now resistant to Difenacoum, which is the main active ingredient found in amateur use rodenticide.”
Alan was also on hand to give tips and advice to make your home infestation free, he advised:
http://https://vimeo.com/651997447
I spoke to Matt Storey, Labour Councillor for Middlesbrough Central Ward and he said
“It’s a major issue, particularly since COVID because the council had less ability to get out and clean the streets and do the alleyways up”
Whilst a small group of of Pest Controllers are available for council owned properties, Middlesbrough Council scrapped it’s in-house pest control service for private homes a number of years ago. Taking a different approach to neighbouring Hartlepool, Stockton and Redcar & Cleveland councils who offer a service for private homes and Councillor Storey would like to see it return.
“Definitely, not only is it the right thing for local people but it would also bring money into the council”
He added
“I’ve met with staff from the pest control department and it’s much smaller than it used to be but the guys who work there say that there is plenty of business out there if we want it and it would actually bring money into the council and at a time where we are under significant financial pressure, that funding could be really important to fund other services”
However Councillor Storey did acknowledge that whilst more can be done from the council local residents also have a duty to keep Rats at bay, he warned:
“We have a responsibility to keep our areas clean and make sure where we can we should keep our own alleyways tidy and not rely on the council to do everything for us”
Before going on to say:
“But when we do have a major issue like Rats or Mice or any other infestation I think it’s the council’s responsibility to provide that service to local people”
However it seems that the general public will be left to their own devices to fight the growing crisis as when asked if there are any plans to reintroduce the Pest Control service to private homes a spokesperson for Middlesbrough Council said:
“Currently there are no plans to instate a pest control service for private households. All the information on the services we do and don’t offer can be found at Middlesbrough.gov.uk/environment-and-public-protection”
