Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has called pest control after rats were yesterday spotted in House Six, the focal point of society and student life in Trinity.
TCDSU President Shane De Rís emailed Trinity’s Estates and Facilities department this morning to report a sighting of rats within the building. Speaking to The University Times, De Rís said that he expected pest control to get to work today, well in time for the hustle and bustle of freshers’ week, when House Six will serve as a base for the annual freshers’ fair. Freshers’ week will begin on September 3rd.
De Rís said that it was “great to see Estates and Facilities acting so quickly on it”. “I haven’t been that deterred by it, to be honest”, he said. When pests are first found in buildings then, according to Colorado pest control expert, it’s important to act fast to get rid of them before their numbers can grow or cause any damage.
A reporter from The University Times saw several rats on the first floor of House Six on Thursday night. It’s possible that the rats entered the building from the House Six entrance to the network of tunnels that lies below Front Square and its buildings. TCDSU uses basement storage space adjacent to these tunnels.
House Six houses the offices of the union’s sabbatical officers, the Central Societies Committee, Trinity Publications, The University Times, the Graduate Students’ Union, a TCDSU-run shop and also serves as the location for numerous societies.
Recently, Dublin city residents have grappled with rat infestations, and have been forced to make their own traps because poison has proven ineffective. Having to deal with rat infestations yourself can be frustrating and distressing. Rats can cause severe damage to homes and pose an obvious health risk due to the various diseases that many carry. When possible, it’s always advised to get professional Pest Control services in to deal with the infestation safely and ensure you as a homeowner are rid of them for good.
Pest control experts Rentokil note that rats are nimble and versatile and make the most of opportunities to enter properties. “Black rats are good climbers and will happily inhabit lofts.” Brown rats, on the other hand, “prefer to build burrows, particularly near or beneath solid structures like sheds, garages and walls”. They are also good at swimming in sewers and drain systems and will make the most of damaged pipework. “Both species will gnaw at gaps to enlarge them enough for easy entry,” Rentokil says. If you find that you are having an issue of pests within your home or in your garden, if your garden is big enough, maybe the idea of looking into a site like www.bespokeairsoft.co.uk could be the solution to your problem. As the use of Airsoft guns can be a way of getting rid of pests around the home, this may be something worth looking into. If you’d rather take the more traditional approach to killing the pests, check out a website like www.pestcontrolexperts.com and get an expert in.
Four years ago, Trinity suffered a bedbug infestation in Goldsmith Hall, with students evacuated from their apartments.
Edmund Heaphy also contributed reporting to this piece.
