I live next to an empty property that is infested with rats.
I informed the council on the 14th of April.
Nothing has been done about this problem and their numbers are increasing.
I've read that rats can spread wells disease, which can be fatal and chew threw buildings causing immense structural damage, I'm worried.
Also as i live next door and see them running around on a daily basis I'm scared they will come into my flat.
Has anyone any advice?
(I have a cat but she is very very old, epileptic, deaf and partially sighted, so not up to the job)
Rats
what about if you got all the neighbours to complain at the same time to the council, might help force them to do something about it?
Some info on the Lewisham site here
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Environment/ ... olRats.htm
Also did you contact this dept....
"Contact us to discuss problems with pests such as mice, rats, cockroaches, ants and bedbugs.
With the exception of rats, we make a charge for our pest control service.
Email
envirocall@lewisham.gov.uk
Telephone
020 8314 7171
Call centre opening hours
Monday - Thursday 7.30am - 8pm
Friday 7.30am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm"
Some info on the Lewisham site here
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Environment/ ... olRats.htm
Also did you contact this dept....
"Contact us to discuss problems with pests such as mice, rats, cockroaches, ants and bedbugs.
With the exception of rats, we make a charge for our pest control service.
envirocall@lewisham.gov.uk
Telephone
020 8314 7171
Call centre opening hours
Monday - Thursday 7.30am - 8pm
Friday 7.30am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm"
-
stellaashtray
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 6 Feb 2009 00:17
- Location: se23
Re: Rats
Hibag lady wrote: Also as i live next door and see them running around on a daily basis I'm scared they will come into my flat.
Has anyone any advice?
(I have a cat but she is very very old, epileptic, deaf and partially sighted, so not up to the job)
Not particularly helpful to the wider problem, but I'd certainly recommend that you make sure all external doors are closed at all times - I had a rat run into my flat this time last year as my garden door was ajar whilst I was doing gardening. Since then, I've also been very careful of closing internal doors so if one does get in, it doesn't have the run of the place.
Also, keep an eye on moggy in case someone/the council puts poison down.
Good luck.
Hi Thanks for all your replies and help,
I contacted envirocall on the 14/04, after intially asking what i wanted them to do about it?(!!), and me explaining they said they would get on to it. I've heard and seen nothing apart from more rats.
I also forwarded my complaint to Cllr Phillip Peake and one of the environmental health officers on the 14/04.
The property is privately owned, it has recently had planning application approval for modernisation, i put in a complaint to the planning dept before approval was given regarding the rats and my concerns that these should be dealt with before building work commences. (i'm concerned the builders would disturb them and they'd be looking for a new place (mine) to live.
Good idea about the neighbours, there's a lot of empty properties around here but i will ask around.
Gaz i remember reading about the rat in your lounge on here, sounded awful. Doors will now be shut.
Any other advice?
I contacted envirocall on the 14/04, after intially asking what i wanted them to do about it?(!!), and me explaining they said they would get on to it. I've heard and seen nothing apart from more rats.
I also forwarded my complaint to Cllr Phillip Peake and one of the environmental health officers on the 14/04.
The property is privately owned, it has recently had planning application approval for modernisation, i put in a complaint to the planning dept before approval was given regarding the rats and my concerns that these should be dealt with before building work commences. (i'm concerned the builders would disturb them and they'd be looking for a new place (mine) to live.
Good idea about the neighbours, there's a lot of empty properties around here but i will ask around.
Gaz i remember reading about the rat in your lounge on here, sounded awful. Doors will now be shut.
Any other advice?
Yeah, it wasn't nice!bag lady wrote:Gaz i remember reading about the rat in your lounge on here, sounded awful. Doors will now be shut.
Any other advice?
You shouldn't worry too much though, as if you have a rat visiting your house then you would know about it quite quickly I should think. They leave a very distinctive smell (sort of sweet/sour/pungent damp smell) and droppings should be evident.
I've put down traps now in my understairs cupboard and boiler cupboard where pipes come up through the floorboards as I think these are my 'weak entry points'. I decided not to put any poison down inside the house as the last thing you'd want is a dead rat under the floorboards...
Another potential weak spot that I spotted in my flat is where my kitchen and bathroom outlet pipes go through walls - leaving a small gap around the pipe. Filling these gaps in is next on my list! (Or should I just get a ratter?!
).Good luck again - as said, I'm sure as long as the doors are shut you have nothing to worry about - but get onto the council asap to clear the neighbouring area...
Re: Rats
Can I suggest that you get on the councils' case with daily phonecalls until they do something about it, speak to the head of department and remind him that they recently sent a newsletter out banging on about pest control and how on top of it they are!
Thank you all for your advice.
Quick update, the environmental health officer called around last week. He had a look in the back yard but not the empty property.
He said he will write to the owner asking that they deal with the rat problem. He said it would be hard to force them to act on the letter as he found no proof. (he was looking for dropings).
I had taken photos ( no i'll not be putting them on the sydenham festival flickr site!) but unfortunately my camera is not able to make them out.
So i will be pestering him further but untill the rats 'go' enough outside and leave a pile of droppings for the officer to get his proof and then to force action the situation is reliant on the action of the mystery and elusive owner.
Not a good situation at all. I continue to see them reguarly, even in the day.
Quick update, the environmental health officer called around last week. He had a look in the back yard but not the empty property.
He said he will write to the owner asking that they deal with the rat problem. He said it would be hard to force them to act on the letter as he found no proof. (he was looking for dropings).
I had taken photos ( no i'll not be putting them on the sydenham festival flickr site!) but unfortunately my camera is not able to make them out.
So i will be pestering him further but untill the rats 'go' enough outside and leave a pile of droppings for the officer to get his proof and then to force action the situation is reliant on the action of the mystery and elusive owner.
Not a good situation at all. I continue to see them reguarly, even in the day.
-
stellaashtray
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 6 Feb 2009 00:17
- Location: se23
Why do the Council and most other government bodies usually always leave issues until they turn into a problem, i mean the Council should be sorting this out NOW not when the rats end up inside the neighbouring properties. They could probably end up saving a lot more money if they tackled this issue now before it turns into a significant problem for the neighbours.
Stone-ridiculous.
Stone-ridiculous.
Yes, they should have a responsibility for it
1. We pay ridiculous levels of council tax that should cover such things anyway.
2. The council are supposed to look after the environment and quite frankly they do not do enough with that, the thousands of pounds payed in tax should ofcourse generate the funds to take responsibility for a vacant house that is causing problems to one of their tax paying residents. Every borough should take a higher degree of responsibility over things like this.
3. Surely in the event where we'd have to pay for pest control for someone elses house the Council should be doing something about it and fining the person who is obviously not taking responsibility for their property.
I feel very sorry for bag lady, it must be traumatising living next to an infestation of rats that could be entering her home and yet paying as much council tax as the next person and nothing being done about it.
1. We pay ridiculous levels of council tax that should cover such things anyway.
2. The council are supposed to look after the environment and quite frankly they do not do enough with that, the thousands of pounds payed in tax should ofcourse generate the funds to take responsibility for a vacant house that is causing problems to one of their tax paying residents. Every borough should take a higher degree of responsibility over things like this.
3. Surely in the event where we'd have to pay for pest control for someone elses house the Council should be doing something about it and fining the person who is obviously not taking responsibility for their property.
I feel very sorry for bag lady, it must be traumatising living next to an infestation of rats that could be entering her home and yet paying as much council tax as the next person and nothing being done about it.
Thanks for the offer of the camera, i've pm'd you!
Thanks Parker for your support, it is horrible living next to rats. However this does not just affect me, they have been there since at least April, who knows the damage they have done to this and surronding properties already.
The council do have a responsiblity to deal with rats under the 'Prevention of Damage by pests act 1949' local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their districts are kept as far as practicable, free of rats.
The council can force the owners of any property's that are affected by rats to deal with them or deal with them themselves and bill the owners.
Wow is this an Act Bensonby wasn't aware of !!!!!!!
Thanks Parker for your support, it is horrible living next to rats. However this does not just affect me, they have been there since at least April, who knows the damage they have done to this and surronding properties already.
The council do have a responsiblity to deal with rats under the 'Prevention of Damage by pests act 1949' local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their districts are kept as far as practicable, free of rats.
The council can force the owners of any property's that are affected by rats to deal with them or deal with them themselves and bill the owners.
Wow is this an Act Bensonby wasn't aware of !!!!!!!
Thanks for that! I'm a criminal law sort of person myself so that's probably why I wasn't aware of it....bag lady wrote:Thanks for the offer of the camera, i've pm'd you!
Thanks Parker for your support, it is horrible living next to rats. However this does not just affect me, they have been there since at least April, who knows the damage they have done to this and surronding properties already.
The council do have a responsiblity to deal with rats under the 'Prevention of Damage by pests act 1949' local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their districts are kept as far as practicable, free of rats.
The council can force the owners of any property's that are affected by rats to deal with them or deal with them themselves and bill the owners.
Wow is this an Act Bensonby wasn't aware of !!!!!!!
Thanks for the proper, informed, reply.... rather than the "we pay money, I want something" approach. There are lots of things I'd like the council to do, but unfortunately do not come within its remit.
Today i took a stroll to the back of my flat, to see a rat in the back yard of the derelict property that has not been worked on at all since my last post. It was very big ,very health looking.
It was mid afternoon, daylight. I ddin't hang around to meet his mates.
Will again contact the environmental health dept at Lewisham but I am so fed up of their inactivity thought i'd post here first. Last year they replied to my complaint only after my post on here.
The environmental health officer who visited last year asked me to ring him regularly and remind him in order to keep him on the job. Thank god we don't all work in this manner.
It was mid afternoon, daylight. I ddin't hang around to meet his mates.
Will again contact the environmental health dept at Lewisham but I am so fed up of their inactivity thought i'd post here first. Last year they replied to my complaint only after my post on here.
The environmental health officer who visited last year asked me to ring him regularly and remind him in order to keep him on the job. Thank god we don't all work in this manner.