View report page

73
RAT REPRESSION.
Rat repression work in the City has been affected to some extent during 1931 by the
death of the City Rat Officer, Mr. J. W. Mayne, and the decision, in the interests of economy,
to leave the position temporarily vacant. No urgent work, however, has been neglected,
as matters that called for immediate attention were dealt with by such members of the staff
as could, when the occasion demanded, spare the necessary time to devote to the solution
of whatever difficulty was being experienced.
The tables set out on page 74 indicate the number of investigations made, and the
details of the work carried out under the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919. From this
summary, it will be seen that 126 buildings, occupied by 161 firms, were inspected, and that
126 of these were found to be rat-infested. One or other of the rat-catchers working in the
City was engaged by 10 firms. Poisons were laid down in 86 cases, varnish traps were used
in 94 cases, break-backs, wire, and other traps in 181 cases. Nine firms kept cats or dogs
on the premises. In all, 101 complaints or applications for advice have been received.
Rat-proofing was put into operation in 220 instances. This is the most important means
of dealing with the rat problem in an area such as the City. When this is carried out in
combination with elimination of hiding places, invariably marked improvement is experienced.
It is not, however, possible, even with the most expensive or efficient methods of proofing,
to exclude rodents from the buildings, ingress to which they obtain as opportunity occurs
through open doors and windows.
One of the difficulties experienced in connection with rat-proofing which so often involves
structural alterations, is the fact that the duty of disinfesting premises devolves upon the
occupiers, who are often loth to spend the necessary money. The owner might reasonably
be expected to deal with structure in the matter, but is not legally responsible.
It is not possible to report even approximately the total number of rats killed. Messrs.
William Dalton & Sons, one of the firms principally engaged in this work in the City, inform
me that they killed 17,904 rats in the City during 1931.
The substitution of old buildings by modern structures, and the constant attention to
drainage and sewage work, have probably resulted in a decrease in the rat population.
So far as palliative measures are concerned, we have continued to obtain very satisfactory
results from the Varnish Trap.
The following figures have been supplied to me by the City Engineer:—
Brick sewers reconstructed 7
Brick sewers constructed 4
Brick sewers in course of reconstruction (1st Jan., 1932) Nil.
Disused sewers filled in and abolished 6
Brick sewers reinverted, pointed and repaired 19
Pipe sewers reconstructed 3
Miscellaneous repairs to sewers, drains, etc 32
House drains constructed in connection with new buildings 33
Drains of existing buildings reconstructed 25
House drains reconstructed in connection with the reconstruction and rein-
verting of certain sewers 134
Gulley drains constructed and reconstructed in connection with the reconstruction
and reinverting of certain sewers 44
New gullies and drains constructed 3
Gulley drains reconstructed 64
House and gulley drains repaired 192
Disused drains bricked up 171
Rats killed by sewer foreman and his men 1,402
No poison was used in the sewers during the year.
The number of drainage reconstructions carried out under the supervision of inspectors
of this Department is set out on page 74.