Rats "the size of cats" infest pensioner's Cotswold home
RATS the "size of cats" have left disabled pensioner Julie Morawicz scared to go upstairs in her own home and £1,600 out of pocket.
The attic at the 70-year-old's semi-detached cottage in Stow-on-the-Wold has been infested with the rodents for three months, despite the efforts of three separate rat-catchers.
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'i don't feel safe': Julie Morawicz has a problem with rats in her attic
Mrs Morawicz says three lodgers have also had to leave her home because of the infestation, costing her around £800 in rent so far.
And the retired casting agent, who now lives alone and receives disability benefit because of a lung condition, says she has already forked out almost £800 on pest control services.
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She said: "I daren't go upstairs in case one gets out of the attic and I see it. It's horrid to think of them up there, scurrying around.
"One of the catchers managed to catch three of them in traps and they were the size of cats.
"They keep coming back. The catchers have tried poison and old fashioned traps, but we can't get rid of them.
"They must be these so-called super rats that can resist poison.
"Your home is where you should feel safe, but I don't because of the rats."
Mrs Morawicz added: "I've lost two sets of lodgers because of the rats. I had a girl lodging with me for two years, and she didn't want to leave but she couldn't bear it any more.
"She could hear the rats scratching around in the attic above her room at night.
"When one of the rats was caught in a trap, she could hear it screaming. It was a horrific sound. I can't let out the rooms until the rats are gone because it wouldn't be fair to the lodgers."
Mrs Morawicz, who has lived in her cottage for 13 years, says her neighbours have reported seeing rats in their attic too.
She says she believes the rats are being attracted to the area by rubbish left in the alleyway behind her home.
The third catcher Mrs Morawicz hired has put down poison in her attic and filled in holes, and she is currently waiting to see whether the treatment has been successful.
A scientific study recently discovered that around 75 per cent of rats in Gloucestershire are resistant to commonly sold poisons.
Earlier this month workmen dug up pavements in the Battledown estate in Cheltenham after residents complained that their homes were infested with rats.
Graham King, who is a pest control technician for Pestforce Gloucestershire, told the Echo some of the reasons why it is so hard to get rid of rats:
* Rats have neophobia, which is a fear of new things in their environment, so they will avoid traps for up to two weeks after they are placed.
* Rats have excellent memory. Once they learn a road path, they will never forget it.
* The average litter of rats contains between seven and 20 babies. This means a single rat can have up to 80 babies a year.
* Female rats can become pregnant at just three months old and often have a litter every three months.
* Rats will eat almost anything, including dog waste and pigeon droppings.
Comments
by Pifaw
Saturday, October 27 2012, 8:15AM
“Rats the size of cats ? Someone should catch one and give it to a zoo where they would have the largest rat ever found in Enland.”
by spindles12
Friday, October 26 2012, 5:28PM
“Don't we also have the same problem as with the poison-the rats just don't eat it"
They would if the contraceptive was nice enough to eat I suppose, after all, rats eat just about anything so if they didn't fancy one flavour there are plenty more to choose from. Of course, if the rats were seriously reduced we might then find that all the rubbish and stuff they eat would be piling up because,apparently, they do eat some disgusting things, dog mess being one of them!”
by gallopingbear
Friday, October 26 2012, 2:29PM
“Spindles, you know me so well.
But would the rats have to continue eating it indefinitely? Will we see little pregnant rattys turning up on Jeremy Kyle because they forgot to take their pill?
Don't we also have the same problem as with the poison-the rats just don't eat it?”
by spindles12
Friday, October 26 2012, 1:37PM
“gallopingbear, I am assuming you are just being silly when you talk about condoms for rats?
The Chinese have been using contraceptive pills for some time, as mentioned in an article:-
QUOTE:The gray contraceptive pills, "Beiao rodent poison is extracted from plants and will reduce or even stop the male rodents from producing sperm. The pills will do no harm to humans or livestock. The Chinese used to rely on chemical rodent poison to rid their homes of rats and mice, but the problem soon returns since it takes only 20 days for a female mouse to bear a new generation"
Perhaps rat contraception isn't such a daft idea after all.”
by Douglasknows
Friday, October 26 2012, 11:06AM
“Hire a decent vermin despatching company that use baited traps that kill them instantly, thereby all you here is a thump and no screaming. Peanut butter is a very good lure and modern traps kill them before they even get a bite. I know cause I bought and used the traps myself. Also the company will determine where they are entering your property.”
by gallopingbear
Friday, October 26 2012, 10:34AM
“Spindles12, millions are being spent on a TB vaccination, we really don't want to spend millions more researching condoms for rodents.
No rats=no rat babies.”
by GlosAnarchy
Friday, October 26 2012, 9:04AM
“How about making the building rat proof, then put out sticky boards! (you have to check them twice a day) simples!”
by spindles12
Friday, October 26 2012, 8:23AM
“Posted this once but it disappeared so trying again:-
Instead of trying to kill the rats why isn't there more research on producing a contraceptive? Apparently China has patented one that renders the males infertile. There are reports of other drugs that affect the females. Surely in this day and age it's possible to make something that can control the population rather than wasting millions of pounds in trying to kill them. It's almost like a bottomless pit whereby the rat population will never get smaller because for all the ones that are killed there will be just as many being born. Stop the births and eventally the problem should go away.”
by spindles12
Friday, October 26 2012, 8:15AM
“Instead of just trying to kill the rats why isn't there more research on producing a contraceptive? Apparently China has patented one that renders the males infertile. There are reports of other drugs that affect the females. Surely in this day and age it's possible to make something that can control the population rather than wasting millions of pounds in trying to kill them. It's almost like a bottomless pit whereby the rat population will never get smaller because for all the ones that are killed there will be just as many being born. Stop the births and eventally the problem should go away or at least get much less of a problem.”
by TimMessanger
Thursday, October 25 2012, 11:29PM
“@gallopingbear, would that be the badgerists or have they adopted a new name of ratists?”