Tormented by ravaging rodents
THE STAR
(From left) H’ng and Heng Yih showing the holes dug up by rats behind a house in Taman Gamelan.
RESIDENTS in Taman Gamelan, Nibong Tebal on the Penang mainland are crying foul over the rat menace which has been ‘terrorising’ the neighbourhood.
Factory worker N. Rajeswari, 47, said the issue started about two months ago and the growing rat population is causing a filthy stench in the air.
“In the night or early morning, I can see the rats, some up to 15cm long, squirming in the drains or in the holes beneath the road.
“As they are looking for a new habitat, they are also causing damage to my porch and the road outside.
“It is a real nuisance! I tried using rodenticide but it didn’t seem to be effective,” she said when met at her house on Monday.
Retired contractor Ang Bah Hok, 62, said he was concerned for his family’s safety.
A rat caught by Ang at his house in Taman Gamelan in Nibong Tebal. (Left pic) Khairil Anwar giving Rajeswari some tips on preventing rat infestation as he goes about giving out anti-rodent posters in neighbourhood. — Photos: GARY CHEN/The Star
“I have seven people living in my house, and the youngest is my granddaughter, six.
“The rats leave their droppings and urine, and we are worried that it will transmit diseases.
“The traps we set up around the house sometimes can get up to two rats in one day,” he said.
Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) councillor Jason H’ng Mooi Lye who visited the neighbourhood with council enforcement officers saidinvestigations revealed that some of the houses had been used as a hostel forforeign workers.
“The employers did not provide the house with proper dustbins, hence, the foreigners simply dispose of their rubbish in plastic bags outside the house.
“The garbage would draw the rodents and eventually provide a breeding ground for them,” he said.
H’ng said the council would be placing rodenticide once every two weeks in the neighbourhood and continue to monitor the situation.
He added that the council had issued a notice each to two house owners, ordering them to clear the garbage, failing which they would be fined RM250 each after seven days.
Also present were councillor Heng Yih Shiuan and MPSP Environment Health Department officer Khairil Anwar Osman.
(From left) H’ng and Heng Yih showing the holes dug up by rats behind a house in Taman Gamelan.
RESIDENTS in Taman Gamelan, Nibong Tebal on the Penang mainland are crying foul over the rat menace which has been ‘terrorising’ the neighbourhood.
Factory worker N. Rajeswari, 47, said the issue started about two months ago and the growing rat population is causing a filthy stench in the air.
“In the night or early morning, I can see the rats, some up to 15cm long, squirming in the drains or in the holes beneath the road.
“As they are looking for a new habitat, they are also causing damage to my porch and the road outside.
“It is a real nuisance! I tried using rodenticide but it didn’t seem to be effective,” she said when met at her house on Monday.
Retired contractor Ang Bah Hok, 62, said he was concerned for his family’s safety.
A rat caught by Ang at his house in Taman Gamelan in Nibong Tebal. (Left pic) Khairil Anwar giving Rajeswari some tips on preventing rat infestation as he goes about giving out anti-rodent posters in neighbourhood. — Photos: GARY CHEN/The Star
“I have seven people living in my house, and the youngest is my granddaughter, six.
“The rats leave their droppings and urine, and we are worried that it will transmit diseases.
“The traps we set up around the house sometimes can get up to two rats in one day,” he said.
Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) councillor Jason H’ng Mooi Lye who visited the neighbourhood with council enforcement officers saidinvestigations revealed that some of the houses had been used as a hostel forforeign workers.
“The employers did not provide the house with proper dustbins, hence, the foreigners simply dispose of their rubbish in plastic bags outside the house.
“The garbage would draw the rodents and eventually provide a breeding ground for them,” he said.
H’ng said the council would be placing rodenticide once every two weeks in the neighbourhood and continue to monitor the situation.
He added that the council had issued a notice each to two house owners, ordering them to clear the garbage, failing which they would be fined RM250 each after seven days.
Also present were councillor Heng Yih Shiuan and MPSP Environment Health Department officer Khairil Anwar Osman.
