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12
Verminous Houses.-
No houses were found to be verminous during the year.
Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919.
The work of rat destruction was continued throughout the year
as opportunity arose. Efforts were continued to prevent the increase
of the number of rats on farms and on the Council's sewage works. At
the refuse dump at Buckhurst Hill the contractors engage a firm of
specialists to deal with rat destruction.
The methods used for rat destruction are still the same, i.e.,
gassing by a Cyano gas pump and baiting with Red Squill, and
satisfactory results continue to be obtained by these methods.
Rat bait is supplied free on application to residents in the district.
At the end of the year a campaign was started against rats by the
Essex War Agricultural Committee, and the Public Health Department
co-operated with them in an effort to make this a success. The
following steps were taken:—
(1) A reward of a penny for each tail brought in was
offered by the Council.
(2) A slide was exhibited at the local cinema advertising
the above.
(3) Farmers, butchers, bakers, wardens' posts and various
other places were notified of the campaign.
(4) Some ratting was carried out at likely places in the district.
The results of the campaign were somewhat disappointing as
only 45 tails were brought in up to the end of December, although of
course this figure did not necessarily represent the number of rats
destroyed. All expenses were defrayed by the Essex War Agricultural
Committee.
Number of visits—67.
(iv) Smoke Abatement—No action taken.
4. Schools—
The sanitary conditions and water supply are satisfactory.
In several schools it was found necessary to clear blocked drains
whilst the buildings were occupied by evacuees.