Sports park at Pennenfeld Strewn garbage draws rats
Pennenfeld · Residents complain about an increasing rat problem in Pennenfeld. As a precautionary measure, the city has ordered rat bait to be set out.
A resident living in Pennenfeld complains of a rat problem there, saying the rodents are running through the sports stadium and even through the front yards in the daytime. At the end of May, she reported the problem to the City of Bonn, which sent its pest control contractor to put out rat bait. The owner of a local ice cream shop says, “That didn’t do anything.” He is also concerned about the problem and hired a pest control firm at his own expense. He says, “The rats come from the stadium parking lot and often run here from across the street.”
An inquiry from GA to the City of Bonn received a response that said pest control above ground is normally the responsibility of the property owner. “On public property, the City of Bonn takes on the responsibility,” said Stefanie Zießnitz from the city press office. She explained, “In densely populated areas, rats find more to eat” and they can find refuge in sewage connections which may be unused but not shut off properly. But the city does have a comprehensive pest control program in place, and in comparison to other communities, there had been a lower rate of cases there and no dangerous incidents to report.
Zießnitz went on to say that the only sure way to eradicate the rat population was to ensure garbage and food was inaccessible to the pests, to not dispose of food in the toilet, and to close off any drainage openings or cracks that lead to interiors.
People who toss out bags of garbage at the sports park could be triggering the problem. As GA learned, the problem is especially big after the weekends when food remains are left behind on the benches and artificial turf field. But garbage also accumulates in other seating areas and shafts in the sports park area. The press office said the sports park was cleaned after every weekend but the workers determined that more and more frequently, private household trash was being dumped there. Says Zießnitz, “This of course attracts rats.”
The city has ordered the pest control company to put out rat bait there because of the issue and promised to check it out again in three weeks. “If the bait is eaten, the animals have perished,” said Zießnitz. Orig. Text: Martina SondermannTranslation: ckloepFoto: Private garbage is tossed in the area outside of the Pennenfeld sports park, attracting rats.
(Original text: Martina Sondermann; Translation: ckloep)
