A helpless mum -of-two whose life has been left in 'turmoil' after her garden became ''overrun'' with rats says she was ''probably happier'' living in her old home where she was attacked with petrol bombs. Jenny Gower had been placed in a Housing Executive property in South Belfast in 2019 after a fuel bomb was thrown through the window of her previous home.
Jenny said that during lockdown there were no signs of the rodents creeping around but they began to emerge once the area got busier again, Belfast Live reports. Since then Jenny's life has been turned upside down as she tries to battle the vermin 'infestation' that has broken out around her home which has gotten so bad that she discovered rats running along her windowsills.
The mother who is originally from Antrim said her kids are so terrified of the rats they won't even enter their own kitchen alone. "When I moved here, I had to wash my clothes out in the back shed so was out there every day doing that and I never saw any sign of rats.
"Then this year I've noticed it's gotten steadily worse. My boys were out playing in the garden in a hot tub they have, which was on the decking. A rat ran out and one of my wee boys freaked out and ran into the house, that was the end of the hot tub, he wouldn't go back out.
"I had to empty the water out of it and put it up on its side in my yard. My son's wee hot tub was bought for him by a fund, and it's not something I would be able to afford to replace.
"When I was letting my dog out the back I noticed he was going mad at the decking. When I went out, I started to notice holes in the garden that I kept track of, and saw they were getting bigger.
"My shed is also now covered in rat droppings." Jenny said that the Housing Executive's Maintenance Team stopped by the property on November 18 to lift all of the decking but when arrived they were appalled to see the condition the garden was in.
Jenny added: "They came out that day at 12, which was a Friday, to lift all the decking. They said once they lifted the decking all the rats would run, I told them I knew that and that I'd told the neighbour.
"They sent photos of it to their boss. They're two landscape gardeners who deal with this on a daily basis."
Jenny said that the ongoing rat issues are negatively impacting the family's every day life as she describes the situation as an 'ongoing battle' The desperate mum of two is now hoping to be transferred to another home has been placed on a waiting list and advised she can temporarily stay at a hostel while she waits for other accommodation.
"On Friday night, a rat was running along my kitchen windowsill. My wee boy freaked out," she explained.
"Do they want me to be standing making dinner with the rats looking in the window? My son is upstairs asking me if I'll go downstairs and get him a drink as he's too afraid to go into his own kitchen. It's just not fair.
"I can't even open a window at the back of my house due to these rats. I don't know what else to do, I really don't.
"I was probably happier living in Ardglass where I was getting petrol bombs through the windows. My life is just in turmoil.
"I'm not staying here. Who else would live in this house?"
A Housing Executive spokesperson said: “This tenant contacted us to complain of pests at the rear of their property. Our staff attended within days and noted decking placed at the back of the house, which had not been built by the Housing Executive, was the issue.
"We advised the tenant to contact pest control to remove any pests and we understand they attended they property. Meanwhile, we had arranged to remove the decking and carry out remedial work.
"Our contractors attended last Friday but advised that the pest issue had not been completely resolved and therefore, work was delayed. We have now asked a pest control contractor to visit the property today for an assessment and to deal directly with any external issues.
"Our Maintenance Officers also visited the property today and could find no evidence of pests present in the property. The tenant has expressed an interest in moving to temporary accommodation and we are working with them to explore options and we will address any other issues they might have.”
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