'I can't let my kids outside to play because our home has been overrun with rats'

A mum has told how a in her neighbourhood has now got so bad the vermin are now entering homes and she fears the may have made her toddler ill. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she has caught four rats in traps - two in the last week - including in the attic of her home on Summerhill Road in Drumchapel, .

The mum blames fly-tipping, a lack of upkeep in the area during the coronavirus pandemic and a reduction in kerbside in 2020 and 2021 for the pest problem. Residents have previously complained of a “massive rat infestation” on Summerhill Road, as rats appear in toilets and leap from bins.

The mum says she began emailing Glasgow City Council regarding “continuous fly-tipping” around Summerhill Road and on the site of the demolished Summerhill Primary School eight years ago - and has now sent more than 50 emails on the issue.

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She told: “It has never been sorted. We’ve always had an issue with vermin, but they had never come into the houses. During Covid, the grass cutting stopped and there was less maintenance happening. It has definitely become a major problem, and it has gotten really, really bad since the bins situation.”

General waste collections moved to being every three weeks between 2020 and 2021, according to Glasgow City Council. Bins are overflowing as neighbours complain they are far too small and collections too infrequent to meet their needs, adding that some cannot take their waste to the tip as they do not have cars.

The mum said her shed was previously demolished due to a rat infestation. “I’ve seen them in broad daylight crawling across my hot-tub,” she said. “We would see rats dying around the place, and then I was coming home from the school run and a rat ran out of my bin, across the front garden and through the back.”

The council’s environmental health team has provided traps across the area and the family also use their own traps, catching two rats within the first 24 hours of using them. They later caught a rat in her attic space and another in the garden. The traps are still down, and the mum says “none of her kids” will go up to the loft space.

She added that she fears health issues her youngest is experiencing could be caused by exposure to rat droppings and urine. She said: “My toddler has had health issues since he was born with his stomach. My health visitor said to me it would be worth telling my consultant that I’ve had issues with rats.

“The kids were out the back playing a year-and-a-half ago before we realised it was a real issue, and they might have come back and touched the baby when he was small.

“I can’t allow my children out to play at all. I have had to bin their toys and everything. I would take them over to the park, but it’s covered in dog muck. I have industrial bleach that I have to put down when I put the washing out because I don’t want to bring rat urine back into the house.”

She added: “Our housing association should be coming around at least quarterly and making sure people are dealing with their rubbish and not fly-tipping it over the backs. We all need to do our bit, but we also need to accept that some people are not capable or willing, and therefore the housing association and the council needs to step up.”

And she added: “With Wheatley Group, I just get so bored of trying to ask them to do anything that I just do it myself. It’s pointless. I had a leak in my bathroom for six years that no-one has been able to find for nine years now.

“When they sent the survey out asking about raising our rent, I asked if they were going to maintain our homes, because at the moment they don’t maintain our homes at all.”

A spokesman for the council said: “We are currently managing a pest control treatment at [this] address along with four other properties at this part of Summerhill Road. All of our pest control treatments follow the guidance set by the British Pest Control Association. This guidance indicates that environmental issues such as hygiene in bin areas, pest proofing of property and the removal of cover for nesting must be undertaken first to ensure the effectiveness of the pest control treatment.

“As rats are always in search of a source of food and a place to nest that is close-by, all households with a pest issue are advised to ensure their food waste is properly contained within a suitable bin, their bin area and garden areas are kept in good condition and all feed for birds and other animals is regularly cleared away.

“All properties that receive a kerbside bin collection have access to a dedicated bin for food waste that is uplifted every two weeks and its use is recommended to ensure suitable containment for the food waste produced by any household.

“The local play park is checked four times per week by our parks team and they will deal with any issues on an on-going basis. Any concerns can be reported to us via our website, the MyGlasgow phone app or through the @MyGlasgowCC social media accounts.”

A Wheatley Homes spokesperson said: “We’re working with the council’s environmental health team, which is carrying out baiting in the area, to treat a report of a rat in our tenant’s home.

“We visited the property on Monday (28 April) following reports of water, however, there was no sign of water ingress. Due to a small area of carpet near the bathroom being wet, we returned today to check a nearby radiator, however, everything is dry. We had arranged to carry out a full plumbing investigation on Friday (2 May), however, the tenant has asked us to postpone that.”