It’s apparently ‘rat season‘ at Hougang Street 51, as a resident discovered to her horror.
MS News reader Mdm Teo shared that a rat appeared in her home three days before Chinese New Year. However, she’d been aware of a rat infestation for at least three years, since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even though pest control services managed to catch the rat in her flat, the infestation had worsened to the point where she had to buy rat traps out of her own pocket.
Despite several calls to her town council, Mdm Teo feels they have not done enough to prevent the infestation. Residents at other blocks have also reportedly spotted rats around their estate.
Previously, the rats would run around the corridors of the first and third floors in packs, rummaging through rubbish bins looking for food, Mdm Teo said.
But the rats became bolder and started entering homes too.
Mdm Teo shared with MS News that she’d found a rat in her third-floor flat in Blk 561, Hougang Street 51 a few days before Chinese New Year.
She then called Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) and six pest control officers eventually came down to catch the rat.
However, Mdm Teo said it took AMKTC three days to act.
“This incident unnerved us and we were paranoid by the idea of another uninvited guest roaming into our flat,” Mdm Teo told MS News.
So she decided to take matters into her own hands and bought rat traps, setting some of them by the stairway.
Image courtesy of Mdm Teo
Over the next few days, Mdm Teo became occupied with setting traps and catching rats.
“Since CNY and through February, we have trapped five rats in the span of three weeks,” she said.
Image courtesy of Mdm Teo
But even though the rats allegedly lay for two days by the stairs, cleaners never cleaned them up, Mdm Teo claimed.
Imagine the smell of a rotting carcass just left there until the stench became evident.
She also questioned why residents pay conservancy fees if such issues weren’t dealt with.
A big issue, Mdm Teo said, is that the trash bin at her block is small, which causes rubbish to overflow.
Image courtesy of Mdm Teo
This attracts rats, not just in her estate, but also in neighbouring blocks.
Mdm Teo told MS News she has stayed in the estate for 14 years but hasn’t seen such a situation until now.
Unfortunately, the only way for Mdm Teo to deal with the rat situation, for now, is by purchasing her own traps.
Source: Facebook
“Our family are totally distraught by the whole incident and our neighbours (are also frustrated) as the rat situation still persists,” Mdm Teo said.
When she posted about the situation on Facebook, she found out that other residents in the estate were also plagued by the rat infestation.
In a written reply to a Parliamentary Question on rodent infestations nationwide, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the number of rat burrows detected in 2022 is around 4,100 as of August 2022.
This compares to 4,300 and 3,900 respectively for 2020 and 2021.
“Rats thrive when food, water and shelter are readily available. Factors contributing to rat infestation include poorly-managed bin centres and refuse chutes, leftover feed for stray animals, improper disposal of food waste and poor housekeeping, all of which provide conducive conditions for rats to feed and nest,” Ms Fu said.
“All stakeholders including landowners, building management, food shop operators, supermarket operators and individuals must establish good housekeeping and refuse management practices,” she added.
MS News has reached out to AMKTC for comment.
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Featured image courtesy of Mdm Teo.
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