This week, City of Edinburgh Council discussed the proposal of an anti-rat task force following continual complaints from locals, particularly those in Portobello and Craigmillar, about the growing abundance of pests in their area.
SNP Councillor Kate Cambell stressed the urgency of the issue in Thursday’s council meeting, noting that many infestations were hiding in unkempt, council-owned land rather than private property.
Residents in Niddrie Marischal have reported rats chewing on water mains and electric sockets, attributing the problem to nearby overgrown council land breeding infestations that have spread into locals’ back gardens.
To control the problem, a task-force has been proposed to access and clean-up the neglected land and lay pesticides in it.
Rodent infestations are a long-standing problem for the city.
As an issue commonly affecting the student population, one student living in accommodation provided by the University of Edinburgh stated:
“I think most students are pessimistic about the Council doing much to fix the pest problem, especially if they’re anything like the university maintenance team.
“Last year when we reported our mouse problem to the University, they told us it was an issue with our flat’s hygiene, and essentially not their problem to deal with. But, even after we kept things clean we still saw rodents, sometimes even in our rooms.”
Despite the scepticism towards the potential impact of these anti-pest plans, this week’s Council meeting did appear to understand the severity of the problem and is tackling it with appropriate urgency.
A costing plan is now set to be written up – until then, the anti-rat task force awaits approval.
“Burnt out bins on Edinburgh’s Westfield Road (3)” by www.theedinburghblog.co.uk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.