Daughter woken by rat in her bedroom in Merseyside neighbourhood ‘overrun’ by rodents

A mum said her area’s rat problems are out of control after her daughter was woken up by a rat chewing through her bedroom carpet.

After that incident in November last year, the mum-of-two said rats also started to appear in the kitchen of her Page Moss family home.

The mum, who asked not to be named, said that after installing shop bought and makeshift traps she caught four rats in her kitchen – which she had banned her children, aged seven and nine, from going in “because it’s just not safe.”

The mum said she reported the infestation to her housing provider and to Knowsley Council’s environmental health team, who came out to visit last week.

She said: “My daughter heard a noise in her boiler cupboard which is in her bedroom. I checked the cupboard and her carpet had been eaten.”

After finding a hole in the cupboard, she put chicken wire and nails into the hole and for a few weeks everything seemed fine.

Streets ‘overrun’ with rats

The mum said: “A few weeks later I heard a rustling sound in the kitchen but it stopped. I came down and my bin has been ripped to pieces [but] when I tried to find this rat I couldn’t.”

A family member came and plugged in holes in her kitchen and outside her home.

She said: “I then noticed one of the Easter eggs I had bought was chewed and emptied.”

The mum said she has been left “disgusted” by the rat infestation in her home but says the problem is endemic in the area.

She said: “The whole street is overrun with rats, especially of a night time.

“It’s disgusting. Something needs to be done about.”

‘Rats as big as cats’

Other residents in Page Moss and Huyton have also reported ongoing problems with rats in the area on social media.

Numerous residents have spoken out about finding themselves beleaguered in their home or in the surrounding streets with the pests.

In November, one woman spoke of the moment she caught “rats as big as cats” sat on a bin outside of her house in broad daylight.

In September, another local resident shared footage of a rat climbing up and down the side of a house, also during the day, and spoke of fearing to let her children play out due to the rats in the street.

Knowsley Council response

Knowsley Council said on their website that residents experiencing problems with rats can contact the environmental health department for help, a view echoed last week by Knowsley Council leader Cllr Graham Morgan on Twitter when asked by several local residents what Knowsley Council are doing about Huyton’s rat problem.

One Twitter user, John, said: “Can you communicate with Huyton residents about the rats issue it’s been going on for years.”

In response, Cllr Morgan said: “Our Environmental Health team investigate any reports.

“We’ve also been working with landowners to clear sites where rubbish has built up, with landlords to ensure overgrown gardens & excess rubbish are cleared & with United Utilities on their sewer baiting programme.”

When approached about the rat problem in the area, a spokesperson for Knowsley council said: “The Council has carried out a number of actions in the Page Moss area.

“We are working with United Utilities on the sewer baiting programme, have sent information to residents about how they can reduce the risk of rats infesting their gardens and properties, and are working with owners of land in the area to clear some sites where waste has been allowed to accumulate.

“When we receive reports of rat infestation, we also worked with owners and occupiers of properties to identify the source of any infestation and any structural defects which are allowing pests to gain access.

“If residents are experiencing problems, they should contact our Environmental Health Team on 0151 443 4712 or through [email protected].”