Pest control company run off its feet with rats

A city pest control company has been ‘run off its feet’ over recent weeks dealing with rat infestations – and has asked the public to take special care with their bins and not to leave any waste lying around.

The double attraction of warmth and food has led to a seasonal explosion in the city’s rat population – but this Winter the problem has been reported as “worse than ever seen before”.

Cathal Dockery, proprietor of the Westpest service in Shantalla, told the Galway City Tribune that over the past six weeks the company had been ‘run off its feet’ with business.

“We genuinely never have been as busy and the problem with nearly all our callers is rats. I don’t think that it’s a weather thing – it’s just their seasonal move towards heat and food as wintertime approaches,” said Mr Dockery.

He said that a key factor in the control of the rodents was in the tidy maintenance of bins and waste food.

“Rats will always gravitate towards food,” he said.

The Westpest boss said that in a city context, one of the main problems facing householders is that while they might be keeping their bins and waste secure and tidy, their neighbours down the road might not.

A key ‘tool’ in the Westpest detection of rats is a specially-trained Jack Russell dog, who can scent out the rodents immediately after arriving on site.

“One piece of advice for householders who suspect that they have a rat or rats in their house, is not to put down bait inside in the house. The smell of a dead rat in a house can be absolutely horrendous,” said Mr Dockery.

Where rats are found to be in a residence or business, the pest company set traps for the rodents to ensure that the ‘remains’ can be removed from the property.

They also carry out detailed surveys of properties to identify the potential entry points for the rodents.

The city – with its huge influx of students for the Winter season – is considered a high-risk rat infestation area. Areas with high tenant populations of young people tend to have less emphasis on bin and waste control.

“Another thing for residents to watch out for is any type of renovation or building work being carried out, especially in relation to drainage or sewers. If the nesting area is disturbed then the rats will move on.

“A city like Galway with its network of pipes, drains and waterworks is a natural gathering ground for rats. Every so often, the population seems to explode, and this winter is one of those times,” said Mr Dockery.

If you see a rat close to your house in daylight hours, you can be guaranteed that there is a rodent problem nearby. They rarely venture out during daylight hours unless there’s a large colony nearby, according to Westpest.