Dealing with Rat Infestations
Members continue to raise the issue of rats in the area, and ask what can be done. The following information has been supplied by: Bob Howard, Pest Control Supervisor, London Borough of Ealing (Tel: 020 8813 1491 or Mobile: 07831 171275)
“It is apparent that most of the residents within the WARA area are fully aware of the need to take some sort of action/treatment. The subject of which is the best poison that can be purchased is one that cannot be answered fully, even by those that are familiar with all the different brands and their effectiveness. As a general rule, make sure that RAT POISON is purchased and NOT Rat & Mouse poison. It is better to use something that is for a specific purpose rather than for generic use.
The active ingredient, which can be found at the bottom of the label with something like 0.025% as a measure, is the next thing to look at. Typically, most rat poisons are anticoagulants that come in different formats. Ealing’s Pest Control suggests that the most effective treatments are Difenacoum, Bromadioilne, or Coumatetralyl. One other poison that can be used is Brodifacoum, but please note that this can only be used inside a building (this is a legal requirement). All the instructions for the correct use of rat poisons are displayed on the labels, and careful attention must be paid to following them.
The baiting of live rat holes is a very effective way of achieving eradication, and a trick of the trade is to lightly cover the hole with earth after placing the bait inside (put the bait within a small plastic bag to prevent it getting damp). If after a few days the earth has been excavated, repeat the process as necessary (this can take weeks) until no more earth is `dug up ` and then you should be fairly sure that no live rats are in that particular burrow. Rats will quite happily take over and populate old disused rat burrows, so the proper filling in of old holes should take place not too long after they have been cleared. Some residents have observed climbing rats. This is not common, although it is easily within a `normal` Brown rats capability. All their senses (except sight) are superior to humans, and their agility is well known and documented.”
At the June 2007 public meeting some pensioners reported that when they had phoned Ealing Council, they had been told that they would have to pay for pest control treatment. At previous WARA meetings, Bob Howard had said that pensioners could get treatment through the Council free of charge. Bob has since provided the following clarification.
“Senior citizens and other people on state benefits, who own their own homes, can obtain a concessionary waiver for the fee which entitles them to a completely free service for the eradication of Rats/Mice etc. This, however, depends on whether they can fill out a simple form giving basic details of their income, i.e. state pension / disability allowance / carers allowance etc, and any other income. This form is completed on site with the Pest Control Officer and is used for the sole purpose of determining if the particular claimant is worthy. There are quite a number of people who live in the Borough who need pest control and genuinely cannot pay and they are whom this is aimed at. Unfortunately there are also some people who will say they are on hard times and need assistance when after a few cursory simple checks are found to be not so, and its these people whom the Council try to weed out. For this system to work the Council needs this information and even though certain people could get the waiver they, for various reasons, will not complete the form and so they do not qualify for the concession. This in turn means that those people, if they still require the service, can keep their income details to themselves, but subsequently must pay the standard rate.”
