Residents of a block of “well kept, tidy” council flats are at their wits end after the flats have been left overrun with rats and mice.
Granby flats in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, are said to have been been experiencing the problem for several months.
Despite multiple complaints about the issue to the Pest Control Team, nothing seems to have worked and residents have been left battling both mice and rats on their own.
One resident, Graham Earnshaw shared his story about living with the problem, which he’s said has been “really disturbing”.
“I’ve had Pest Control from the council around a few times, they’ve done a thorough job in coming around and helping me out and putting stuff down, but it’s really disturbing as you can imagine,” he said.
“Four floors up and I’ve seen them and heard them and they use the cavity walls like the M1, so when you hear them scratching about above your bed in the middle of the night it’s extremely off-putting.
“I’ve been here for 12 years now, and I love it. I’ve got a great view, I keep myself to myself, I’ve got some good neighbours, I just wish they could plug up all the holes or whatever they have to do to fix it,” he told Yorkshire Live.
“The last time we had them, was when they came to refurbish all the flats and replace the cladding. This was around the time of Grenfell, so that was worrying enough what with all the scaffolding up.
“Then one day the gas board came around and drilled a hole in everybody’s external wall, I rang them the next day, and the day after they came back around and capped up all the holes. You might as well have left a welcome mat outside. ”
Despite common misconceptions that they are attracted only to dirty or unclean homes, mice and rats have invaded the flats at Granby even despite them being well kept, tidy and clean.
Graham claimed he kept a “clean flat” - which made it even harder to get to the bottom of.
“Apparently mice can scale the sheer outside walls of the building,” he said. “Before the flats were built, there was a row of terraces here, and before they built the flats I was told they didn’t cap the drain, so if that’s the case, it’s where the rats are getting in and the mice can get through a keyhole pretty much.
“They don’t need much space.”
“It’s absolutely terrifying. When you hear them in the cavity, it’s bad enough - but about a week, maybe two weeks ago now, they left some bait down either side of my fridge freezer, and there was obviously a mouse in the box having a right good picnic! It’s just really disturbing. It’s horrible.”
In response to the complaint, Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees said Council was aware of a pest issue at the flats that has been “affecting some tenants”.
“A treatment programme has been implemented to the affected flats which has shown to be effective,” he said.
“All reported cases at Granby flats have been responded to and at present we have one open case and are engaging with the tenant to look at the best way of dealing with their issue."
“Kirklees Council’s Pest Control service aims to deal with any immediate problems that are reported and discover root causes to prevent similar issues happening again. "
"It is vital all our Council tenants live in homes that are safe, secure and in good condition to live in. If any tenants are still experiencing problems, I urge them to get in contact with us again as soon as possible so that we can see what more can be done to help.
"We also offer an emergency out-of-hours service in the evenings and weekends for Council tenants."
“Residents can report pest control issues through www.kirklees.gov.uk/animals or by calling 01484 414901, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm.”
