Falkirk Council: Residents call for action to tackle increase in rats and rubbish

Sharron McKean, Janine Reilly and George McGhee set up Falkirk District Action Group (FDAG) in response to problems with rats around their own homes in Bainsford.

Now, they are hoping that others will join them in demanding action from Falkirk Council and are circulating two petitions. Their first is asking the council for a temporary increase in bin collections until the rat problem is under control, while the second petition wants the council to bring back its pest control service.

Although they are not yet a formally constituted group, they now have a small committee and a band of volunteers who have been taking the petition around the district.

They all believe that in recent years there has been a large increase in the number of rats throughout the Falkirk council area. And they say that “getting on top of the waste would help get on top of the vermin”.

While the group hopes to have public meetings throughout the district to highlight the issues, they have also launched a Facebook page that quickly gained around 250 members.

Members have been swapping stories of seeing rats in homes, gardens and neighbourhoods and lending each other support.

Sharron started the group and petitions after rats were found in her kitchen. As she lives in a council-owned flat, Falkirk Council did arrange and pay for a pest control service to attend.

However, she says that the response to the Facebook page shows that the problem with rats is district-wide and she thinks it is shocking that Falkirk Council does not offer a pest control service.

Sharron said: “I looked up other local authorities to see what they do and lots of other councils do have pest control services. West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire – they’ve all got pest control so why doesn’t Falkirk?”

She points out that North Lanarkshire has even waived the call-out fee for dealing with rats since the pandemic, due to an increase in reports.

Since starting the Facebook group, Sharron and Janine have heard lots of stories of vermin in places across the district including Westquarter, Maggie Wood’s Loan and Bonnybridge.

Sharron said she knows how distressing it is for people as she herself has experienced them in her home and gardens round her flats. “The stories I’m getting since I started the page show that it’s everywhere.

“I know we’re never going to eradicate them but we need to try and get on top of it. People are being quoted £246 for four visits and it’s just not affordable,” she said.

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Falkirk has been successfully operating four-weekly residual waste collections since October 2016. There is no evidence to directly link rodents with four-weekly collection services for residual waste.

“The primary cause of vermin issues is linked to poorly managed/maintained bins which contain food waste and will potentially attract rodents. Rodents are attracted to food waste, and if no food source is provided, there will be no rodents. The council makes it clear that food waste should not be placed within the green bin, with residents benefiting from the weekly food waste collection service.

“Additionally, like a number of other councils in Scotland, our collection services are designed in line with the Household Charter for Scotland and associated Code of Practice which provides for the maximisation of recycling and minimisation of waste being sent to landfill. Moving away from this collection regime would go against the national guidance and climate change activity.”

“The Council removed its pest control service earlier this year as it was expensive to operate and it duplicated the good quality and often cheaper services provided by private companies to local residents. Updated guidance for residents is available via the website under pest control.”