Rooting out a ratty menace

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A roof rat.

THEY chew through vents, invade trash cans, pantries and drains, scurry through alleys and under bushes and sometimes harass residents day and night.

Rats — large and small — infiltrate both urban and suburban homes in Kuching city. These menacing critters, which gained notoriety historically for causing the bubonic plague, even camp in their hordes in our sewers, spreading diseases as they contaminate underground reservoirs and even ponds near schools.

There is no data to compare past and present figures but it is believed the rat population around us could have reached a peak over the last few years although some may think things are not worse than before.

“They are definitely among us” is a common utterance by the man in the street with a hint of lingering disquiet.

On the streets, especially near rubbish bins, behind coffee shops and drains, there have been — despite all the cleanliness campaigns — rat sightings  even now, some the size of kittens.

These vermin are very sensitive to sound, making it even more difficult to catch them rummaging through rubbish bins.

Many tell-tale signs

With Kuching city and its outskirts expanding into residential areas and satellite townships, rats too are multiplying and fanning out their territory.

While much of the evidence on rat and mice infestation is anecdotal or limited without hard data, tell-tale signs abound of this insidious gnawing nuisance boring into larders and granaries or ravaging through rubbish bins to gorge on wanton throwaways.

The city centre and suburbs may be the epicentre of the rat scourge, yet in other, more idyllic locations, including in the countryside, rats are also on the move.

Far away from spilled bin bags in city centre alleys, suburban and rural homeowners are believed to be invaded as well.

The rat problem becomes more acute during the rainy season when floods could hit some parts of Kuching Division.

With nests and food sources washed away in the wet season, rats are forced to find new habitats. It is quite normal to see them scurrying up water pipes, roofs or along fences of homes during flooding and even on normal days.

The instinct for survival is hard-wired in these resilient pests — whatever the odds, they, somehow, are always able to find food, breed and continue their species in ever greater numbers.

Rats are also quite mobile, capable of travelling considerable distances. This could explain why after severe flooding a lot of damage to crops is evident in the affected areas.

Disease carriers and spreaders

It is not just the hair-raising horror of finding a rat feasting on discarded food in a drain or rubbish bin that is the problem.

Rats also carry and spread diseases. In the past century alone, more than 10 million people are believed to have died from rodent-borne diseases.

Although rats are not major threats to our everyday health, it is justified to be concerned with the potential for rats to transmit diseases.

By their very nature and design, rats make excellent vehicles for harbouring and rapidly transporting diseases like lyme disease, salmonella, rat-bite fever, to name a few.

Rats also cause the life-threatening leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by bacteria found in rat urine.

The disease claimed 18 lives in Sarawak in the first 10 months of last year and 26 in the same period in 2013.

State Health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan told The Borneo Post on Nov 10, 2014 that the 18 deaths were due to exposure to contamination.

He pointed out that the victims were mainly farmers or villagers exposed to unsanitary environments, which may have had the urine of animals afflicted with leptospirosis. This is an indication rats are also on the move in the rural areas.

Leptospirosis was classified as a notifiable disease on Dec 9, 2010, under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.

Rat control campaign

Last year, the country launched a rat-control campaign in response to warnings from health officials about a spike in cases of the rat-borne leptospirosis.

All 26 local authorities in Sarawak launched their campaigns on the same day.

The state-level launch was hosted by the Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) at Kota Sentosa, and performed by the Local Government and Community Development Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.

All the local authorities were directed to carry out long-term programmes and activities to control and eradicate rat populations, especially in public places such as markets, eating outlets, shophouses as well as residential areas.

Under this programme, all eateries, markets and stall operators were reminded to keep their premises clean and avoid indiscriminate dumping of food waste into public drains.

Most of the local councils in Kuching are on top of the problem to reduce the rodent population although total eradication is impossible, especially when there is always abundant free food around.

Conditions such as this one are what rats are looking for to breed, multiply and wreak havoc.

A formidable foe

There are 26 species and 200 sub-species of rats in Malaysia. Common rats regarded as important pests in urban areas are the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and house rat-roof rat (Rattus rattus diardii).

A female rat can give birth to between six and 12 pups, which will reach sexual maturity in about three months.

The average lifespan for a rat is one to two years, depending on conditions such as food source, harbourage and predators.

MPP secretary Andrew Joris Noyen said rats might not be seen during the day but judging from their droppings, council health officers could tell that an area was rat-infested.

He added that it was impossible to tell if the rat population was definitely going up or down unless a study is conducted.

According to him, so far, MPP has been using poison — instead of traps — to eradicate rats in certain areas under its jurisdiction.

He said poison is placed mainly near drains or rubbish bins where droppings could be seen.

As such, he said, it was impossible to count the number of rats caught or killed over a certain period of time.

He noted that while efforts were continuously being made to reduce the rat population, the rodents were still making their way to most areas under MPP — and also Kuching city at large.

“We are contemplating using traps as well to catch rats in our areas,” he disclosed.

Andrew, a former Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Regulatory Services deputy director, said DBKU was using traps to control the rat population and managed to put it under control.

“I don’t know the situation in DBKU now but the anti-rat campaign is an on-going thing,” said Andrew, who joined MPP about four months ago.

Areas of concern

He stressed that where MPP was concerned, steps had been taken to eradicate the rat population in targeted areas.

These include Matang Jaya Bazaar, Taman Lee Ling Bazaar, Taman Suria Jaya Bazaar, Taman Heng Guan Shop, Taman Malihah, Tapah Bazaar, Beratok Bazaar, Siburan Bazaar, Taman Duranda Emas Bazaar, 12th Mile RPR Bazaar, 13th Mile Bazaar, Kota Sentosa Bazaar and Market, 4th Mile Bazaar, MJC and Taman Desa Wira Bazaar, 3rd Mile Bazaar and Market, 10th Mile Bazaar and Market, Siburan Bazaar and Market, Old Batu Kawa Bazaar and RPR Batu Kawa 1 and 2 Bazaar.

Even then, Andrew said it was not the job of the authorities alone to eradicate rats from the towns and the streets, adding that the public should share the responsibility.

He said it was the population at large that created situations leading to the explosion of the rat population.

“In fact, everyone can help to take preventive measures. For example,  always keep the living and work environment clean and sanitary and  make sure there is no open food or trash that will attract rats.”

He said food operators also have a role to play in preventing the rat population from swelling.

Rats are believed to go elsewhere if they cannot find the resources they need to survive and thrive.

Overflowing trash cans, food left outdoors, open water sources and buildings in disrepair all contribute to making rats feel right at home.

Many people create the problem and then they sit back.

Shared responsibility

Andrew said it was time everyone — especially food operators — take the rat problem as a shared responsibility by working together to stop making the city a rat’s paradise.

He pointed out that since rats lived close to humans, the best way to deal with the problem posed by the rodents was to eliminate their sources of food, water and shelter.

“If people make their homes, food outlets, cafes and restaurants less attractive to rats, we won’t have a problem with them.”

Regrettably, many areas around MPP and Kuching seem to provide ideal conditions for rats and mice to thrive.

It is not rocket science to know rats depend on humans and their resources to survive. So unless residents and city officials take proactive preventive steps, rat infestations can easily get out of hand.

Our towns and cities may not rank high on the rat infestation list (not yet at least) but that does not mean we should be any less vigilant.

While rats are commonly found eating human or pet food, they are also found gnawing on other materials, causing damage to furniture, clothing, wiring, insulation and piping.