Residents live in fear as rat infestation sees rodents 'jump out at them'
One mum has been stuck in a waking nightmare due to a horrific rat infestation that's left her terrified of opening her wheelie bin in case they jump out at her.
Tracy Baker, a 46 year old mum from New Bury estate in Farnworth, said the infestation was "disgusting". She told the Manchester Evening News, "Sometimes you're scared to open your wheelie bin in case they jump out at you."
The problem has become so bad that Tracy and her children have had to sleep downstairs out of fear of the rodents. Despite having five cats, the rats have caused significant damage, including destroying sentimental items and damaging a washing machine as the wider country could face a similar problem.
Residents of the Bolton town noticed the issue becoming worse in the summer of 2023. "It does affect me mentally," Tracy admitted. "Then, all of a sudden, you start hearing this scuffling in the walls. For a while I thought, 'Am I going crazy?' The next minute, the washing machine has flooded the kitchen and I realised they had chewed through the pipe.
"I've got things in the attic that I've probably lost because the rats have destroyed them valuables and sentimental things like the kids' toys. Since then, I haven't gone back into the attic because I don't know what I'm going to open my attic door to. I've lost all of that as far as I'm concerned," said the mum-of-five.
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She explained that the rat problem became unbearable around four years ago, forcing her to call out pest control. Despite this, finding dead rats in her garden is still a common occurrence once spotting up to nine carcasses in one day. "If I didn't have cats, it wouldn't keep them down," she added. "They are overrunning the estate. You wouldn't expect them to scarper across the middle of the road in front of you but they do."
Another resident of New Bury estate, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed she's forced to bleach her child's Wendy house every year in fear rats have been touching it. "It gets scrubbed down and bleached if they've been near it," the 26 year old told the MEN. "It's been like this for years, but we've not seen any a good few months. They bugger off the minute you go out."
The mum says the problem has been going on for years (Paige Oldfield)"The only time [my toddler] is out is in the summer. In the winter, he doesn't go out at all, so he can't reach the poison or the rats," she added.
Julie Lee, another resident of New Bury estate, shared that her 21 year old daughter was unable to sleep last summer because of rats in their attic. "You could hear them," said the 55 year old. "It was waking her up in the night. It's disgusting. You look up and think, 'What's going on up there?'"
Another local, who didn't want to be named, shared: "I live behind the (George Street) mill and I've had rats in my shed not in the house yet luckily but I've also seen rats running around the lodge to people's houses."
Nick Peel, Bolton Council leader in June, promised he would explore free pest control's return once he got elected to clean up the town. A Bolton Council spokesperson said the rat problem resulted from an "isolated incident" and the issue will continually be overseen in the area. They stated that the pest control team took swift action this week in the areas adjacent to the ravaged George Street Mill, including George Street and neighbouring zones.
Three dead rats in Tracy's garden - she says she found as many as nine in one day once (Paige Oldfield)The council said: "In areas with persistent rat problems, the council will take action including clearing dumped waste and working with United Utilities to bait sewers. While this appears to be a result of an isolated incident, we will monitor the situation in the area."
They pointed out that, as with other councils, homeowners are charged for pest control services with charges matching those in the private sector.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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