London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Lewisham 1952

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]

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29
Rodent control — treatment of rivers and ditches
In addition to the measures taken to deal with the destruction of
rats in private and business premises, special efforts are made to cope
with this problem as it affects the rivers and certain of the ditches in
the borough.
Treatment is carried out mainly between October and April by four
men, and in addition to the actual destruction of rats it includes the
clearance of such objects as water cisterns from river beds and the
lopping of undergrowth along the banks, in order to remove likely
sources of harbourage for rats.
The normal practice followed in treating rivers and ditches is to
lay prebait on three or four consecutive days followed by poison bait
on the fourth or fifth day. The poison bait used is zinc phosphide
mixed with sausage rusk and water.
During 1952, treatments were carried out on all sections of the
rivers in the borough together with certain ditches. Where heavy
infestations were found, retreatments followed. The undermentioned
table gives a summary of work carried out during the year:—

Table 16

RiverNo. of base pointsPrebaitin gPoison baitEstimated rats killed
No. of days on which prebait laidResultsAmount laid (lbs.)Amount taken (lbs.)
TakesPartial takesNo takes
Pool12112926232010350
Quaggy207321283762619714
Ravensbourne48379331215070431517
Ditches. Ladywell Road to Chudleigh Road427160263263
Reigate Road to Verdant Lane353250102281