A mum was left unable to live in her own home after rats kept chewing their way into her property. Since June 26, 2022, Dominique Sharp, 38, of Top Valley, has been trying to stop rats from entering her Nottingham City Homes property.
In 2020 Dominique had previously had issues with mice in her property and paid for pest control to visit. She had thought the issue was resolved, until she saw rats coming from her neighbour's garden.
The customer service worker said: "I was in my kitchen and I saw a rat near my shed and then I noticed in my garden to the side there was rats coming from next doors garden through the hole. I got in contact with my housing patch manager for my property and just advised them of the situation."
Read More: Update on plan to redevelop city arches into shops and restaurants
Dominique says she was advised to contact Severn Trent Water, as it was believed the rats were using the drain to try and access the property. She said: "Then a week later I lost my dad so I was dealing with that, and then about on the 12th July I could smell a foul smell coming from the kitchen.
"One of my friends came round and they took the kickboard off and there was a dead rat underneath my sink. They was coming though a hole in the drain and they chewed through the floor.
"I got back in touch with the council and a lovely lady helped me. She got pest control out and they came out on August 5th."
Pest control laid bait at the property to catch the rats, and Dominique said they told the council that she would need a camera down her drain, and that she has also asked Environmental Health to go to her neighbours'.
However, weeks later the mum is still dealing with the issue. She said: "I've opened the cupboards before and there's been a live rat in there. Then Saturday again in my kitchen and there's a rat dead in my cupboard.
"It's just been a delay of everything and the council has been rotten. I lost my dad and it was a really hard time for me, and I couldn't stay in my property, the smell was disgusting and I've got my daughter and I couldn't cook."
The 38 year old explained she now has a hole in the back of her kitchen cupboard from where the rats have chewed through. She added: "I now have a hole in the back of the cupboard where they are coming from again, I'm hearing stuff in my walls and I don't know anymore I'm just so exhausted.
"I've just been trying anything and everything to get somewhere." Dominique had put some expanding foam behind the kickboard in her kitchen, but when her friend looked on Sunday, September 25, the rats had "chewed all the expanding foam and there's all rat droppings underneath."
She said: "they need to rip out the kitchen and see where they are coming from. I just think its going to be an ever occurring problem if they don't rip out my kitchen and try to find the problem."
Due to the situation, Dominique and her daughter felt they could not safely live at their home for several weeks. She explained: "I haven't lived here but they want me to pay my full rent. I just find it very unacceptable, I couldn't even cook in my kitchen, they just don't get it, it's been torture."
A spokesperson for Nottingham City Homes said: “We are aware of the issue Ms Sharp is experiencing and have been working along with pest control to resolve it. There have been some delays trying to find a suitable time with Ms Sharp for an appointment but we have now carried out repairs to drains which may have been how rats were getting in.”
A City Council spokesperson said: “Pest Control officers have visited this property on a number of occasions to set baits and will revisit next month to check if this and other action has worked. We have also issued a notice on a neighbouring property to request that an accumulation of garden rubbish which may be attracting the rats is dealt with.”
Read More:
