Rats reap benefits of Celtic Tiger

Donal Hickey on the growing rodent population.

ONE of the unwelcome byproducts of the Celtic Tiger, especially the building boom, is that it has boosted the rat population. The huge increase in waste output since the mid-1990’s and irregular rubbish collections have also helped provide more food for rodents.

And in keeping with the best entrepreneurial traditions, more rats and mice mean more business opportunities for enterprising individuals. It used to be said that a person that could invent a better mouse trap was on their way to millionaire status.

Now, the traditional trap is becoming outdated, giving way to new-fangled technology. A leading, Irish pest control company now claims to have come up with the ‘world’s smartest mouse trap’, called Radar.

Dr Colm Moore, technical manager of Rentokil Ireland, explained how Radar employed the latest technology to deal with the problem, using infra-red sensors to detect the pests and then dispatching them in a humane, eco-friendly and non-toxic way.

The Radar mouse trap has two entrances. If the mouse breaks two consecutive infra-red beams, it trips a circuit that immediately closes both entrances and carbon dioxide is released. The unit captures a mouse immediately.

Dr Moore added: “We are developing more hi-tech ways to deal with infestations, such as the infra-red sensor technology that the Radar uses. In my opinion, Radar is the world’s smartest mouse trap. Carbon dioxide use is recognised as the most humane way to kill a mouse.’ A few years ago a trap was introduced to the market which sends emails to the relevant technicians once activated. The captured rat is then killed using carbon dioxide.

It has been claimed that you are never more than a few feet away from a rat because rats tend to live near human habitation and feed mainly off waste. Nobody, however, has done a proper census of the rodent population.

Attempts have been made in other countries to measure the rat population, with varying results. For instance, a national rodent survey in Britain, in 2003, concluded there was a rat for every person in the country. In New York, however, a survey estimated the rat population to be much lower than that.

Pest control is a growing business, with many organisations, such as food manufacturing companies, anxious to protect reputations and profits by staying pest-free. Pharmaceutical companies, shops, restaurants, schools and hospitals are other places that must also be aware of problems.

It also seems that people are becoming even more squeamish about the rats and mice — just think of all the grown men that would run from a mouse! Rodent infestations pose health risks if they are not swiftly eradicated. Mice and rats carry and spread diseases such as salmonella, Weil’s disease, typhus and rat-bite fever, and can easily contaminate stock. Nobody has yet quantified the country’s rat population, but calls to pest control companies are increasing all the time.

According to the Health Service Executive (HSE), it is good practice for a builder to treat an area for rat infestation before starting work. But this rarely occurs. “What tends to happen is the builder goes straight in and starts digging and the rats, who hate to be disturbed, scatter into neighbouring properties,” said an HSE spokesperson.

Under the Rats and Mice Destruction Act 1919, the owner or occupier of a premises is responsible for keeping vermin-free, but there is very little enforcement of the act. It’s a different story, however, for hotels and restaurants which can be closed if found to have rodent infestation.

A particular concern from the health agency’s point of view is leptospirosis, which is potentially fatal in a severe form known as Weil’s Disease. Some years ago a Dublin man was killed by the disease after a rat ran up his leg and urinated. The man, who was playing golf at the time, took little notice as he had not been bitten. Two weeks later, however, he was taken to hospital where he died from kidney failure.

There have been 68 cases of leptospirosis in the 10 years to 2003, according to national statistics. The main symptoms are flu-like illness, with a persistent and severe headache. Early intervention can help prevent serious illness. Pest controllers carry special identity cards in case they fall ill, alerting medics to the possibility of contact with rat urine.

But, the risk of a rat attacking a human is said to be slim as they are far more afraid of people than people are afraid of them. The rat’s instinct is to run.