A Dublin woman has described the horror at the amount of rats in her Ballymun home.
Maria spoke on to RTE's Liveline about the infestation, which she believes is a combination of rats and mice living within the walls of her home. She has made several efforts to get rid of the animals, who have been in her house for over a year, but to no avail.
And the HSE are closing down the case later this week as they believe that there are only mice on the property. She said: “We had HSE pest control come over intermittently to put poison down.
READ MORE: The places in your home where spiders are hiding, according to expert
"They’re insisting it’s mice but I have so much proof of what my son has caught. We have video footage that I can’t even bear to look at."
Maria and her son found three and a half dead rodents behind the walls of her kitchen in recent months, which her son disposed of himself. The continued problem has stopped Maria from cooking in her kitchen due to fears over contamination, with the family mainly using paper plates and disposable cutlery to eat from for sanitary reasons.
Another caller suggested alternatives for solving Maria’s problem, including ferrets. The scent of a ferret can apparently scare rats away, although the presence of rat poison poses the same threat to them as it does other small animals.
She also told RTE listeners that she’s concerned about disposing the dead rodents due to the presence of poison in their bodies. Maria said that the HSE themselves do not get rid of the dead animals but lay the poison down.
She says she is at a “genuine loss” over the recurring problem and expressed disappointment with the HSE, remaining convinced that the issue is a rat infestation worthy of further investigation. The problem has caused a significant strain on her home life, particularly when her son was bitten by one of the creatures in a previous incident. She feels unable to have visitors in case this happens to someone else.
“My mental health is the most important thing for me at this stage. I was going mad because I was asking pest control for such a long time for help. I have pictures under my kitchen press that show rat and mice droppings too. It’s a serious infestation I believe I’m dealing with,” she says.
READ MORE
- The worst 'energy draining' home appliances that are costing you a fortune
Dublin Bus passenger attacked by thugs spewing homophobic abuse
Met Eireann forecasts wet and windy weather for Dublin as temperatures to nosedive
Mountjoy prison victim Robert O'Connor funeral hears call for 'no retaliation' over his killing
Gay man feels no longer welcome in Dublin mosque after 'lifestyle' condemned
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
