Council wants new poisons to combat super rat plague

Pest control experts warn that the town remains an epicentre for poison-resistant rodents - and that they are spreading into neighbouring counties.
West Berkshire Council spokesman Keith Ulyatt confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) that the council was leading calls for permission to use third generation poisons.
He said: “We’ve linked up with other local authorities to say to the HSE that if they want us to fight this, then let us use the appropriate rodenticide.”
An 80-year-old woman died in hospital in Reading last year just a few weeks after she was apparently bitten by rats while she was bedbound following a stroke.
And in 2008 a frail, 101-year-old Brimpton woman was bitten on the head in her sitting room.
Recent flooding has exacerbated the problem as rodents seek shelter in homes.
Graham Chapple, a spokesman for council contractors Rapid Pest Control, said: “There’s currently an explosion of rats in the Newbury area. They’ve also mutated genetically and have bred to become immune to standard poisons.
“Unfortunately the HSE is being bloody-minded and digging its heels in at the moment. However we believe that the professionally controlled use of new poisons - not necessarily stronger, just alternative poisons for which they have no resistance - is the correct way forward. “
He added: “This would be more wildlife-friendly than the current situation where people can buy 25 kilos of poison and throw it around indiscriminately where it won’t kill resistant rats but where birds and other wildlife can access it.
“Proper rat control is imperative due the the spread of diseases and in the interests of public health.”
The HSE acknowledges that rats in West Berkshire have developed resistance to so-called second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) such as difenacoum and bromadiolone, so products containing these are no longer effective at controlling them.
As there is no known resistance to the more potent SGARs brodifacoum, flocoumafen and difethialone, these can still be used to control resistant populations indoors. However, as their use is not permitted outdoors, other control methods, such as gassing, trapping and shooting, have to be used instead.
However, HSE spokesman Jason Green said: "We recognise there may be problems with resistance to some rodenticides in certain areas within the UK and therefore there is a demand for certain products to be used outdoors which currently are restricted from such use.
“We are considering the current position for dutyholders to be able to use these products. To help inform the decision making process HSE has recently conducted a stakeholder engagement initiative and HSE is in the process of reviewing the responses received as a result."