Rats on the street, rats in the garden and even rats in the house. But hopefully not for long, because the Breda Volkswijk Tuinzigt will get the help she has asked for. The municipality of Breda and Housing Corporation WonenBreburg have agreed to work together better in the fight against the Pague Plague and to tackle the source of the misery. “It’s nice that they no longer point each other,” says resident Francisca IJpelaar.
The rat plague makes people in Tuinzigt desperately and angry. The accusing finger mainly goes to WonenBreburg because it is thought that the housing corporation is not taking action. “If they don’t continue to do anything, I let go of a hundred living rats in their office,” resident Colinda noted early this week.
But that story is not true according to WonenBreburg. “We also find it very annoying that people with small children see rats walking through their garden,” says a spokesperson. “But we have taken every report seriously. We immediately sat down by putting rat traps for a few weeks. We may have had to show that more to the residents and have to give them better information.”
“We’re going to see where the source is, so that we do not only do symptom control.”
But putting rat traps alone is, according to people in Tuinzigt, not enough to solve the problem. They want more in -depth research and get that too. A consultation between the three responsible parties (the housing corporation, the municipality and the tenants themselves) ensured last Tuesday that agreements made were tightened and that more action is being taken. The urgency is recognized and everyone’s responsibility is clear again.
“Falling and bait boxes alone do not solve the problem,” says a spokesperson for WonenBreburg. “Rats are smart and the real cause is often in broken sewer pipes or in heavily polluted gardens. You have to tackle that together.”
Until now, a commercial control company was often sent on the road. That is changing now. “We have agreed that the municipality will first look where the source is. We will then pick it up further. We prevent that we only do symptom control,” said the spokesperson.
The municipality emphasizes that everyone must do their part. “We are responsible for the public space and the municipal sewer. The corporation must take care of its homes and residents must have their gardens and waste in order,” says a municipal spokesperson. “Only by doing that together can you really solve the problem.”
Residents previously told Omroep Brabant that they are desperate:
It all sounds good for the residents, but there is also skepticism. Francisca IJpelaar has been living in the neighborhood for years and has seen the Rat Plague grow. “It is nice that the municipality and housing no longer point to each other,” she says. “Otherwise we will always be sent from the cupboard to the wall.”
Yet she keeps a blow to her arm. “First seeing and then believing. Pesting company Rentokil comes once every four weeks, but those rats do not fall into their traps. That just doesn’t work. That is why I want a smoke inspection, but with several houses at the same time. Only then makes sense.”
“Residents must keep their gardens neat and not leave waste outside.”
That all costs a lot of money and WonenBreburg points out that the corporation is already in the pocket. “We spend around 150,000 euros annually on pest control, of which more than 50,000 in Breda,” the spokesperson said. “We want to help tenants, but residents also have a responsibility: keep gardens tidy and not leave waste and animal feed outside.”
Solving the plague is not arranged from today to tomorrow. “If someone does not cooperate, we will continue to appeal to the tenant. To move it to do it differently. We usually try to resolve that together with neighborhood agents and social workers.”
Residents hope that the new approach will finally make a difference. “It is positive that there is now action together,” says IJpelaar. “But as long as no one has been to have been for inspection, I am waiting.”
