Rats back in Bukit Batok, town council hires pest control firms
A new rat infestation has been discovered in Bukit Batok, adding to previous cases in other parts of the area in 2014 and last year.
Of the 12 residents The Straits Times spoke to yesterday, 11 said they had spotted rodents scurrying around Block 523 at Bukit Batok Street 52 in the past week.
A first-storey resident, who wanted to be known only as Madam Yue, said she saw a rat on the steps leading to her front door while returning home.
She installed a door screen to prevent the rodents from entering her unit.
The Choa Chu Kang Town Council, which is in charge of the estate, has hired pest-control companies to tackle the infestation.
A town council spokesman said it is carrying out weekly pest-control efforts using measures recommended by the National Environment Agency, including glue traps and rat poison, which is regularly sprayed around burrows when residents report them. Since last October, 26 rats had been killed.
But, some residents felt that the pest-control measures were ineffective.
"The rain washes away the rat poison, so the rats are not always killed," said a retiree at Block 523 who declined to be named.
He said he had made several complaints to the town council, fearing a repeat of the December 2014 infestation near Bukit Batok MRT Station, in which more than 300 rats were found and killed.
The latest incident took place near Bukit Gombak MRT Station, while another case of rat activity near a Chinese temple at Bukit Batok Street 23 was reported last year. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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