Cops battle infestation of rodents, pigeons, bugs and cats at headquarters

GARDA bosses wage a secret war against intruders of the creepy crawling and four-legged kind.

Pest control reports from their Phoenix Park headquarters describe a whole range of problems with rodents, pigeons, insects, and even stray cats.

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Gardai fights rodent infestationCredit: Alamy

Inspections log a number of issues, including garbage collection that is “credible” and a mouse in a sensitive fingerprint lab.

In one callout, an infestation was found in a men’s room that was “teeming with large moths and small flies”.

However, an inspector arrived to find no visible signs of insects and said they might have been attracted to a light through open windows at night.

Concerns were also raised about a window partially held open by a drainpipe in a basement area.

“This is close to the recycling and the kitchen canteen at the center of the technology office, so it would be of great importance to rodent activity,” a report said.

In another area of ​​the technical office building, where two doors were kept open with a fire extinguisher and a gas burner, exterminators warned of the dangers of doors remaining wedged.

“I spoke to XX about keeping the doors open at the Tech Bureau and told them that doing so could result in rodents entering the building,” a report said.

According to the incident log, there were also reports of landfills where rodents came down quickly.

“This is an ongoing problem that was first reported last week,” a report said.

“As already mentioned, this standard of hygiene in the workplace would not be acceptable under normal conditions, but it is hard to believe that in the current one [Covid] The crisis we are in, the problem remains. “

Problems with an identified isopod infestation were also found in the Garda Commissioner’s building.

Gardaí said the location of their headquarters in the 1,700-acre Phoenix Park made the presence of pests “almost impossible” to avoid.

They said pest control at their headquarters consists of routine monthly inspections of rodent and insect monitoring points.

PEST PROBLEM

Proactive measures have also been taken to make their buildings “rodent-proof” by installing cuffs where pipes passed through walls and blocking other access routes.

When pest activity was discovered, exterminators were immediately called in to take the “necessary steps to remove the infestation”.

A Garda spokesperson said: “The Garda HQ complex itself is located in Phoenix Park … which offers diverse and diverse habitats for birds and other wildlife. Some other animals found in the park are wild deer, badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, rabbits, squirrels, house mice, wood mice, and brown rats.

“With this in mind, and given the unique location and environment … the facility management office routinely manages emergency calls for a range of pests, particularly pigeons, ants and mice.

“It was also found that there were a number of stray cats on the premises at times.”