A mum says she has been forced to install cameras in her daughter’s bedroom as their home is being plagued by rats.
Louise Gunning, 38, said she’s been forced to employ the desperate measures to keep two-year-old Leah safe, as the rodents run riot in her rented property.
The part-time care assistant revealed how she keeps a nightly watch on the cameras — as the rats sneak in and out of her Rankinston home in Ayrshire, Scotland, reports the Daily Record.
Now she is demanding action from the landlord Shire Housing, who she says have let her down with their preventative measures to keep the rodents out.
Louise said she’s been plagued with rats in her home since the run-up to Christmas.
However, she claims she was told the landlord doesn’t deal with rat infestations once they are inside a tenant’s home.
Louise, who lives with husband Christopher, 42, in a three-bedroom semi, revealed: “It’s been an absolute nightmare. They’re been in the cupboards, on the work surfaces and underneath the bath.
“Now I’m not sleeping. I’ve had to put two cameras on my wee girl while she’s sleeping. One faces her and the other detects movements, you just don’t know where they are.
“The can come up any tiny hole and you worry when you hear them scratching about.”
She continued: “We phoned Shire Housing Association on December 22 and were told they don’t deal with it at all, once rats are inside.
“They said they can block off the area where the rats are coming in, but once they do that it’s us who have to deal with the problem inside.”
It’s understood that the rats are coming through a drainage system, installed years ago, and the pipe that leads out of the property remains a point of entry.
Louise said: “The rats are also digging under the slabs and coming into the house. There’s also an area where you can get into the cavities and walls but it’s not been blocked off either.
“We’ve had four running about, which were caught. And on Wednesday we brought out a dead one that was underneath the house after we put poison down.
“Now we’re out of pocket, we’re the ones buying the poison, we’re the ones buying the traps. We shouldn’t be doing that.
“The housing association say there is nothing in the agreement to deal with the issue in the house but the house needs to be liveable and fit for purpose; it’s not.
“It’s also affecting my neighbours. It’s hard to let the kids out the back door as you don’t know what they are going to pick up.”
Louise has now enlisted the help of Citizens Advice and Doon Valley councillor, John Bell.
Cllr Bell said: “I spoke to Shire Housing Association and argued that, as landlord, they were failing in their duty of care.
“Now Shire Housing Association have employed an outside contractor to eradicate the rats, so it is being dealt with. It’s been a wee bit of a saga but I’m pleased they are dealing with it.”
Jim Munro, director at Shire Housing, said in a statement: "Mr and Mrs Gunning made us aware of this unfortunate situation and we have taken urgent action to deal with this using a specialist pest control contractor.
"Despite East Ayrshire Council having responsibility for pest control, we have visited the family home to assist the residents in dealing with this problem and are taking the necessary steps to eradicate the infestation including inside their home.
