The City’s Environmental Health Service services thousands of baiting points across the metropole each year, focusing on public spaces and informal residential areas. Environmental Health Practitioners will ramp up their efforts during autumn, which generally sees an increase in rodent activity ahead of winter.

An effective rodent control programme is a necessary public health measure, aimed at protecting the public from contracting diseases associated with rodents, such as Leptospirosis and the plague, which rodents and their parasites are carriers of.

In terms of the Government Rodent Regulations and other Health Legislation, it is the responsibility of every property owner or business operator to keep their premises in a clean and hygienic state, and rodent free.

Rodents are likely to be found in areas with dense human settlements, a steady food supply in the form of food waste, good places for harbourage such as storm water drainage systems and an absence of predators.

For the period July 2021 to February 2022, City Health received 1 605 complaints relating to the activity of rats and during the same period  completed just over 41 000 services at baiting points across the metropole.

The number of baiting points increase during April and May, to correspond with increased rodent activity in the run-up to winter as they move indoors to seek shelter.

Most complaints have been received from informal settlement areas, where structures are not rodent proofed and areas such as ports, transport interchanges and business districts where a large number of food premises are located.

‘Rodents are a phenomenon in most urban areas around the world and the management of these, and other vectors is a priority for the City’s Environmental Health Practitioners – particularly in areas where residents might not have the means to pay for private pest control services. I want to encourage residents to please avoid making use of toxic, and often illegal substances to manage pests in their homes.

‘Our staff provide rodent control services and also focus heavily on education and awareness around waste management, illegal dumping, chemical safety and how to rodent-proof homes. If you notice a problem in your area, report it to the City’s Call Centre or your nearest clinic or Environmental Health office,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.

Environmental Health Practitioners also advocate for the use of a safe, low risk poison for rodent management, devised by UCT’s division of Environmental Health, comprising a mixture of half a cup of flour or maize meal, half a cup of sugar and half a cup of bicarbonate of soda.

City Health conducts routine inspections at all food premises to enforce various regulations and assess vector compliance. Abatement notices with specific compliance periods are issued where problems are experienced and if necessary, premises are prohibited from trade until the rodent concern has been addressed.

In addition, the City encourages the public to follow these tips to deter rodents:

• Store food in secure containers
• Clean food preparation areas immediately after use
• Make sure rubbish bins are securely closed
• Do not dump waste illegally
• Do not leave uneaten pet food out
• Seal cracks or holes in walls, floors and under doors

Source: City Of Cape Town