Glasgow residents 'fearful of letting kids play outside' amid rat infestation

A rat infestation in a Glasgow close has left residents fearful of sending their kids outside to play, it has been claimed.

Video footage, obtained exclusively by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, shows several large rats scurrying around the Yoker back court, in and out of bins and along the grass verge at the side of the court looking for food.

One resident said the area was “swarming” with vermin, and said the problem had been made worse as there were not enough bins to contain rubbish from local properties.

There were claims that the rats were now so large they were too big to fit into the bait boxes designed to catch them – although this was disputed by the council.

GMB union boss Chris Mitchell said the situation at Speirshall Close was “horrendous” and that the trade union has been highlighting this problem for years.

He is not only worried for the health and safety of the residents living there but his members who have to empty the bins.

A local resident, who does not wish to be named, told the LDRS that when they moved into their property in July 2024 they were told that Wheatley Homes Group was aware of a severe rat infestation in the gardens, bins and streets but it would be sorted.

They said: “We were also short by two of our three shared bins for our six flat close, resulting in one bin for six houses. This was also promised to be sorted.

“It has now been over 14 months and the problem has become extremely worse. We are still waiting on new bins. We were given one by our close neighbours next door.

“They are now short of a bin which means they are overflowing which is then burst open by vermin and the whole street is rampantly unhygienic with rats running everywhere.

“This street is full of children and they are out running about in a garden swarming with rats and litter. The bin men refuse to remove bulk and normal waste as they are too scared of the rats.

“The rats are now coming into our closes and up to the front doors.”

Chris says the GMB also received a phone call from our members within the refuse collection at Dawsholm Recycling Centre about the rat situation infestation at Speirshall Close.

He said: “We went down there the other day and what I saw was absolutely horrendous – rats running about the back court and going into the bin shelters and into a grass verge.

“You could quite clearly see bait boxes there but the rats were actually too fat to get into the bait boxes to get the poison.

“A resident came out and I felt really sorry for her as she had a family. The rats were running around her feet and she said she had been trying to deal with this situation for about a year but the issue has gotten worse.

“The rats are climbing the walls, trying to get into the houses and families can’t let their kids out to the back court to play.”

Chris also is also worried about the diseases rats can carry such as Leptospirosis, an infection according to the NHS transferred from animals, soil or water.

Although rare in the UK it can be spread through the urine of infected animals like rats, other vermin and cattle urine.

According to Public Health Scotland, there were six cases of Weil’s Disease in Scotland in 2023, none of which were in Glasgow.

Chris added: “Leptospirosis (weil disease) can quite clearly kill you and it is not fair either for our members to be facing conditions like this, we know there are rats within Glasgow because of the nature of the job we carry out but this is severe infestation.

“We have been highlighting rat problems across Glasgow for years and the situation is only getting worse.

“The problem is, pest control struggles to cope with it as there are that many rats. We know there are more people employed in that service so I hope that helps the situation we are currently seeing now.

“But we are seeing infestations like this popping up across Glasgow regularly and someone is going to be seriously hurt. I don’t want to see that – my members or members of the public.

“There needs to be an emergency declared to tackle this situation and Speirshall Close is just one of the many situations we have seen. No-one should be living in those conditions.”

Glasgow City Council says that rats will almost invariably always go for food waste over bait boxes and that without having checked it is not correct to say they are “too fat” to get into bait boxes.

An adult rat can get through a space as small as half an inch. The bait box is 2 inches wide.

The local authority is also stressing that it does not expect staff to go into areas of infestation, for their own health and safety.

Where necessary, alternative refuse collection measures will be put in place until an infestation has been dealt with, not only by pest control, but by the residents and their factor taking steps to improve their environment sufficiently to deter the presence of rats.

A spokesman said: “Our pest control team has been operating at this address, including follow-up visits, since June this year.

“There are issues in the backcourt area that require to be resolved and our public team is advising on the steps that require to be taken.

“It is essential that residents and their property managers keep back courts well maintained, with all food waste properly contained within suitable bins, to ensure the effectiveness of any pest control treatment.

“We have well established health and safety procedures in place to protect the well-being of our staff, which includes steps on how staff protect themselves from risks associated with pests.

“Weil’s Disease is an extremely rare condition with only six cases in Scotland as a whole in 2023 and no cases among our staff group in living memory.

“If staff follow the health and safety procedures we have in place they will be highly protected from the very small risk associated with Weil’s Disease.

“An adult rat can fit into a space as small as half an inch wide and so there is no issue with rats accessing bait boxes which have an opening of 2 inches wide.”

A Wheatley Homes spokesperson added: “We’re working closely with the council’s pest control team to help our tenants.

“Our housing staff have been out to offer any support our tenants need, while our environmental teams have regularly removed rubbish and cut the grass in the back court to help the council’s pest control team.

“We’ll continue to do everything we can to help. Residents in the area who have any concerns should, in the first instance, contact the council’s environmental team.” 