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payment by the Lambeth Council. The service is free to the
individual.
A total of 1,690 persons were treated at the cleansing station and
given 3,285 baths, compared with 1,883 persons treated in the
previous year.
Rat Infestation
During the year 1946, 858 infestations have been dealt with. Of
these 783 were brown (common) rat, 66 black (ship) rat and 29
mice infestations. 590 infestations were dealt with in dwellings,
120 in food premises and 148 in other properties. 796 baitings
were carried out, 13 infestations were trapped or ferretted, and in
49 cases advice was given. 93 defective or disused drains were
found to be the source of infestations and were dealt with by the
Borough Engineer and the District Sanitary Inspectors.
The sewers throughout the Borough were baited by the Borough
Engineer's staff in June and December, and throughout the year a
very large number of disused drains have been sealed in the sewers
and under footpaths by the sewers staff. Much help has been given
by the Borough Engineer's Department in searching for disused or
suspected defective drains whenever necessary, and the satisfactory
state of the Borough is largely the result of this work.
Although the number of brown rat infestations is large, the
number of serious infestations was few and most were of stray rats
and minor infestations.
The black rat is still confined to the northern end of the borough
and is almost entirely restricted to business premises.
The 29 cases in which baiting was carried out to destroy mice
were in business premises in which the infestations were heavy and
in a few exceptional dwelling house cases. Very many complaints
have been received of rat infestations in which the source of the
nuisance is found to be mice, but it is not always practicable to
bait and suitable advice is given.
Until November, the whole of the work was carried out by one
operative, but consequent upon the Council's acceptance of the
Ministry of Food's circular N.S.12, a further operative was engaged.
This has enabled the Council's first operative to carry out house-tohouse
inspections throughout the Borough. It is too early to express
an opinion as to the value of this course of action, which is
on the lines suggested by the Ministry, but on a very restricted
scale.