A LOCAL pest control company has seen an increase of up to seventy per cent in call outs to homes and businesses dealing with rat and mice infestations. The extremely wet weather experienced in February is driving the rodents indoors and stricter regulations on the use of rat poison is also to blame, according to Patricia Page of North West Pest Control.
Speaking to the Donegal News yesterday Ms Page said they have been inundated with calls over the winter months but also, unusually during the summer months.
“We would get a lot of work in Donegal, we cover Buncrana, to Letterkenny and go as far as Donegal Town. There has been a huge increase in our callouts, between sixty and seventy per cent.”
New laws curtailing the use of rat poison are making the job of professionals like Ms Page much more difficult. New regulations mean that professionals, as well as members of the public, can no longer use poison as a preventative measure but only after the presence of rodents has been detected. However, Ms Page said by the time activity is discovered it is often too late and the problem is much harder to control. She said this is becoming a huge problem affecting big premises with some businesses being forced to close because of infestations.
“We are being choked by legislation,” said the Derry based pest controller “Legislation in the republic is a lot more restrictive than in the UK.” Ms Page said while the legislation has its good points in terms of protecting non-targetted wildlife such as barn owls and birds of prey she pointed out that most pest control professionals are very responsible. She said the regulations do not restrict the ordinary consumer going into a shop and buying rat poison which she feels is making the problem worse.
The poison sold over the counter is half the strength of the poison used by professionals which she said is causing ‘bait shyness’. This occurs when a non-professional lays poison that makes the rodent unwell but is not strong enough to kill it and the rodent then becomes more aware of the bait in future. This in turn makes the professional’s job much harder.
“I go to houses and they have rodenticide scattered about around gardens with animals and children running around but they don’t realise what they are doing is wrong,” said Ms Page.
“We need to make it easier for professionals but we need to have stricter regulations for the general public.”
The National Pest Technicians Association met with officials from the Department of Agriculture in Dublin on Tuesday when discussions took place surrounding the regulations covering rat poison and how the new laws are affecting pest control businesses across the country
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