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As the Middlesex County Council were still the authority under
the Rats and Mice Destruction (Act) 1919, all the complaints were
, sent to the Rat Destruction Officer of the County Council, who was
overwhelmed with complaints and consequently unable to deal with
them.
The Minister of Food issued instructions for this Council to
take over on ls£ February, 1944, the administration of the Rats
and Mice Destruction (Act) 1919 and the Infestation Order 1943,
and so a burden of 422 complaints of rats had immediately to be
dealt with,
A Rodent Operative and in assistant were appointed to commence
work at the beginning of February, and took over this large
number of complaints which had* however, by this time, been
reduced in number by the Sanitary Inspectors, who had visited the
sources of the complaints and had eliminated those which were
not in immediate need of attention, or which could be resolved
with other complaints into a smaller number of centres of infestation.
The following is a summary of the work carried out by the
Rodent Operative, acting under the direct supervision of the Chief
Sanitary Inspector, from the 1st February to the end of the year :—
Complaints (in addition to those already mentioned) 443
Premises inspected 667
Premises found to be infested with :
(1) Rats 448
(2) Mice 761
Re-visits to premises 1,111
Estimated number caught :
(1) Rats 1,198
(2) Mice 1,294
Fees received for treatment * £356. 12s. 6d.
Premises treated free of charge 44