Following yesterday’s article about the vermin problem in Fourth Street in Blackhall Colliery (please see post dated Sunday 29 May 2022 for details).
I have received an update report this afternoon from the pest control office setting out details of a preliminary inspection of the surrounding area and measures that have been taken earlier today in advance of the landlord/property owner responding to calls from the council to deal with the infestation problem at their property:
One of our treatment staff had some cancellations today so I was able to send them to Fourth Street to have a look at what may be causing the issues. The findings were as follows:
- No. ** – Bins lid gnawed by rats so needs replacing otherwise it will provide them with easy access to a food source.
- No. ** – Old mattress in rear yard that could provide harbourage for rats.
- No. ** – Hole into wall cavity inside outhouse and lots of droppings in the outhouse indicating this is probably the epicentre of the problem.
- No. ** – Hole around waste pipe coming out of the rear wall of the property, which could provide rats with access to good harbourage.
- No. ** - Lots of rubbish in yard and overflowing bins, which represent a potential food source. Also, a hole on the rear extension around the soil stack is providing free access to the cavity, which could provide rats with access to good harbourage.
Given the above and the capacity issues that I have on the investigation site, could I ask the following:
- ****** – Are the Wardens able to deal with the waste at no. ** and no. **? Also, is there anything you can do about the bin lid issue at no. **?
- ****** – Do you know the landlords / owners of no. **, ** & **? If so, can you share their details with me so I can contact them about the work that needs doing on their properties (all need the holes blocking up and no. ** needs a treatment to kill off any rats that are inside of it)? Unless you have secured the funding we discussed to allow you to pay for this sort of work direct (the reference here is to funding from the TDP scheme mentioned in yesterday’s article)
The technician didn’t have time to check all the manholes in the street to see if there was any sign of a drain fault causing the rat issues; however, if we can address the above it might solve the problem and, if not, it removes the list of probable causes and we can focus more on the drains when the proper investigation starts.
As you’ll see from the comments above the neighbourhood wardens have been asked to address the additional problem of fly-tipping in the rear yards of nearby properties and the private sector housing office has been asked to contact the owners of the properties identified with a request that they take whichever measures are necessary to make their properties secure against vermin infestation.
I’ll update on further progress as soon as I have additional information from the authorities.
