Woman hits out at Glasgow City Council over rat infestation

Eneida García Villanueva, who lives in Garnethill, says she “can’t sleep” after seeing the rodent in the second floor flat on Monday, October 28.  

The mum-of-one said: “I was in tears because rats carry serious diseases.  

“My toddler is two and a half years old so she’s at an age where she plays on the floor. 

“I can’t really get it into my head that in 2024 there are rats in a home. 

“We are going to bed at two or three in the morning just trying to find holes because we have to protect our daughter. 

“I don’t know what to do. They’re disgusting.” 

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Eneida García Villanueva and Andrew Wilson in the back court where they often see rats (Image: Robert Perry) Eneida, who is currently finishing her PhD, and her husband Andrew Wilson have since found further evidence of rats including a hole in the piping system and droppings.  

On the night she saw the rat, Eneida called pest control right away and they attended the next day.  

She says they were told that baiting was not possible because of their young child and they were instead told to “close every hole” in the flat.  

She said: “It’s difficult to express the level of frustration and worry.  

"There’s no response [from the council]. I find it really inappropriate”. 

A bin that has been chewed through by rats (Image: Robert Perry) The building currently has work being done one on the roof and façade and they were also told pest control will not be able to conduct a survey until the scaffolding comes down once work is completed.  

It comes after Eneida had previously reported seeing 12 rats around Charing Cross to the council in May and again in July and her downstairs neighbour Asif Ishaq reported being able to hear rats under the floors of his flat. 

They have also seen rats at the front and back of the building and submitted a request to pest control in mid-October.  

Eneida, who has lived in the area for seven years, says the problem has got increasingly worse since the last Glasgow School of Art fire in 2018 but says the current works on Sauchiehall Street and the demolition of the O2 ABC have caused the situation to get “way out of control”.  

She said: “How is it that no contingency plan has been put in place from the moment we had the second fire at the school of art?  

“I appreciate funding is limited but how is it you don’t have a fund for the rodents? 

“It’s a public health issue.” 

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Eneida in her kitchen where she saw the rat (Image: Robert Perry) Eneida is now calling for the council to introduce contraceptives as a way to tackle the rat population, a measure which the UK Government previously backed for invasive grey squirrels.  

She is also pushing for this to be introduced after reading a report from the Rodenticide Resistance Action Group about the resistance of anticoagulants poisons in rats and mice.  

However, a spokesperson for the council highlighted contraceptives are not currently legally available.

Asif, who has lived in the building for 16 years, says he hasn’t had any rats inside his property but has been hearing them underneath the floorboards.  

The issues started a few years before Covid but he says in the last three months it has become more frequent, and he can hear them in different parts of his flat. 

He says the problem was avoidable if the council had stayed on top of it.  

He said: "I feel there's been a bit of neglect from the council in baiting the area and trying to control this issue.  

"It has a massive impact on your wellbeing.  

"Because they’re nocturnal creatures I can hear then during the early hours and that disrupts my sleep."

He added: "I’m just asking for a basic service to be delivered. 

"I don’t understand why there’s no urgency to deal with it."

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: "Our staff have attended at these homes and provided advice and support for the residents on pest control issues.

"On-going building works at the address have prevented a full survey of the property that would allow us to identify all the repairs needed to pest proof the building.

"However, it is clear the proofing work is required to prevent pests from gaining access to both homes and this work is entirely the responsibility of the householders or owners.

"All of our staff follow the standards set by the British Pest Control Association , which indicates that proofing and hygiene works should be undertaken before baiting is commenced.

"These standards also determine how poison can be deployed safely to guard against the risk of harm to humans and other animals.

"Pest control on a commercial site is a matter for the owner and their contractor, but our public health team can intervene where wider issues have been detected."