There has been no sign of a boom in the West Lothian rat population as a result of the two year lockdown and pandemic, officials have said.
While reports from other parts of the country suggest an increase in problems with vermin, the numbers of call outs for council staff to tackle rats showed little difference during the pandemic than in the years before.
The figures were released as pest control charges made by the council almost doubled this month, as the council attempts to maintain a service which few local authorities provide.
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Councillors heard in the Autumn that charges fixed at £94.10 to control rats, mice and other vermin no longer covered costs.
The Executive approved raising the cost to £162 for a maximum of five treatments to control vermin at its final meeting of 2022 in December.
It is understood commercial pest control firms can charge upwards of £300 for a similar service.
Figures from the council showed there was no significant upsurge in calls to pest control officers during the lockdown.
A spokesperson for the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service said: “Rats are very common in Scotland and across the world, and awareness of rats increased significantly during the pandemic.
“However, there is no evidence that rat numbers are increasing, or that there are any particular problems in West Lothian.
“Our pest control officers attended 189 treatments for rats in 2018/19 and 186 in 2021/22, so numbers out with the pandemic are broadly consistent. We do not centrally record where each treatment takes place, and it would not be possible to go through all the individual records to check this.”
The spokesperson added: “While rats will always be present in our environment, we can all take steps to limit the chances of them coming into areas near people. Dropping litter or other foodstuffs encourages rats to come out of their usual habitat for an easy meal, so residents are encouraged to ensure any food waste is stored in solid containers, such as wheeled bins, to prevent this."
Speaking to the Public and Community Safety Committee in the Autumn Craig Smith Environmental Health Manager said: “A number of the treatments that are provided had fees which were not reflective of the actual service delivery costs and needed to be updated.
“The Pest Control service is required to recover its costs in order to ensure its continuation; that's the model that’s been in place for a number of years.
“We’ll continue to provide good value in terms of costs and the quality of the service which is delivered.”
Council tenants do not have to pay for the service, but private home-owners and landlords do.
A report to the committee added: “The costings are based on staff costs, travel and vehicles, materials, equipment, visits per treatment, administration, and VAT which is required. The average visits per treatment is five, and therefore this will be set as the limit.
“Any visits required beyond this would require another treatment payment.
"This will not apply to commercial establishments paying commercial rates where the job is based on an hourly rate.”
There is a 50% concession for people who qualify for reduced charges. These include those in receipt of housing or council tax benefit, any income related benefit or Universal Credit.
Mr Smith added: “The important thing to point out here is the provision of pest control is a discretionary service. There are other options, and self treatment is another option. Internal provision is done hopefully in terms of protecting the council’s own estate. There are other options available. We would give advice in those situations we wouldn’t charge for advice.”
For more information on pest control services offered by the council, please visit www.westlothian.gov.uk/pestcontrol.
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