66 rats killed in blitz at Skate Park

Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times 15 Feb 09;

You could say the rodents were cornered like rats - all 66 of them.

The casualty count - after a blitz by the National Environment Agency (NEA) over the last two weeks at Somerset Skate Park - was 66 rats killed.

The attack was launched after a Jan 25 Sunday Times article about rats in Orchard Road, especially in the area near the Skate Park.

NEA officers carry out routine sanitation and hygiene checks daily at different parts of Orchard Road.

A spokesman said complaints about rodents in the area are generally rare and form 'less than 1 per cent of the feedback'.

The blitz on rodents was in addition to the daily checks.

A three-pronged approach was taken to win the battle at the rat-prone Skate Park.

'First, we reduced the availability of food sources. Second, we identified and eliminated living

areas like rodent burrows. Finally, we controlled the population directly by culling,' said the spokesman.

Culling entails killing rats by trapping, baiting or poisoning them.

The rodents in the area are mainly Norway Rats which are prolific breeders, with each female capable of producing six to eight litters a year.

Each litter comprises seven to 12 mice.

At Skate Park, the operation, carried out by Star Pest Control, started at about 11pm every two days over the two weeks.

The company's general manager, Mr Bernard Chan, said: 'We looked for signs of rodents like burrows, trails and droppings.'

Burrows were dusted with poisonous powder that rats picked up as they entered.

When they groomed themselves in their burrows, they ingested the poison and were killed, along with their families.

The burrows were then sealed with soil.

The company had another weapon: pieces of cardboard with rat glue on top.

Bits of grilled coconut or cuttlefish were placed in the middle of the boards which were left in drains.

'The rats came to eat the food and got stuck in the glue. We collected and disposed of them the next day,' said Mr Chan.

The company also dropped blocks of grains mixed with rodenticide into the burrows.

The extermination efforts were sustained for about two weeks and no rats were caught on the last occasion.

While rats breed quickly, Mr Nicck Yeong, sales and technical manager for pest control company Rentokil, said the success rate of a typical operation with baiting, trapping and sealing of burrows is about 95 per cent.

The rat population can be minimised through keeping areas clean and free of refuse, and storing food in sealed containers and hard-to-reach places.

Littering is a problem in the Skate Park as park users often leave behind food.

A spokesman for the National Youth Council and *scape, which own and manage the Skate Park, said that a pest control operator has been engaged to tackle problems at the Youth Park and Skate Park.