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of complaints by occupiers that their premises were infested and
arrangements were made for complaints to be received at the air
raid wardens' posts.
On the 6th May, 1943, the Infestation Order was issued, and in
accordance with Article 5, the local authority was directed to
make a comprehensive report with regard to rodents in the borough.
Accordingly the Council set up a special organisation for the purpose
of carrying out extensive surveys of property within the borough
to ascertain the extent of infestation by rats and mice, and where
this proved to be heavy, to undertake "Block Control" methods
of rodent repression. In addition, the Council was required to
treat sewers regularly by means of poison, so as to reduce the rat
population. For these services, and subject to the Council
recovering from occupiers the cost of any extermination or preventive
work undertaken, a grant was made to the Council by the
Ministry of Food.
In the period December, 1943 to January, 1944, poison baits
were laid in sewers and from the "take" it was calculated that
5,850 rats had been destroyed.
Prior to the war two workmen were employed on work connected
with rat infestation, such as the examination of drains, lifting
floorboards, etc., in order to trace rat runs and advising occupiers
of baiting and trapping methods, but under war-time conditions
it was necessary to employ six men on this work in addition to the
men who were employed upon sealing off from sewers the drain
outlets of houses demolished by enemy action and of sealing the
drains and sanitary fittings in unoccupied war-damaged premises.
During 1948 the Council adopted the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries scheme for rodent block control treatment and in my
Annual Report for that year I wrote:—
“Active measures were taken during the year to deal with
rat and mice infestation in the borough, but the number of
complaints of surface infestations showed no appreciable
signs of abatement.
Each complaint of rat infestation is referred to the Rodent
Officer, who makes a preliminary inspection and arranges for
examination of the drains and also the adjoining properties
if this appears desirable, for taking up floorboards, and any
other steps necessary to trace the source from which rats are
gaining access to the buildings.
Tracing the source of an infestation from drains, etc.,
often involves a great deal of work, for it might be necessary
to examine the drains of several houses before the defective
drain is discovered from which the rats are escaping. Then