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Destruction of Rats in Council Sewers.
The main breeding centre for rats is undoubtedly the Council's
sewers. Over the past years, increasing accent has therefore been laid
upon the regular laying of poison baits using Fluorakil 3 in the access
points throughout the sewers, of which there are 125 miles in the
borough. These access points comprise side entrances connected by
galleries to the sewers and ventilating shafts immediately over the
sewers. There are over 2,300 of these baiting points and, as far as
possible, each point is baited four times per year; difficulty is
experienced in baiting all the points at any one time owing to road
repairs and the presence of parked vehicles.
Once per year non-poisonous test baits are laid, a subsequent
inspection of which serves to indicate the degree of infestation of
the sewers. The results reveal a continuous decrease in the rat
population throughout the system.
Sewermen of the Council and employees of contractors engaged on
works of repair to the sewers have commented on the decreasing number
of rats seen in the sewers. The effectiveness of the policy of
continuous poison bait treatment of the sewers is also reflected in
the decline in the number of complaints of surface rat infestations
which are received in the department from owners and tenants of
property in the borough.
The following graph shows the relationship over the past four
years between the number of complaints of rat infestation and the
incidence of rat infestation in the sewers which was found as a result
of the yearly test baiting:-