Rodents creating issues for Haynesville residents

Tired of sharing their houses with rats, residents of the Haynesville Housing Area in St. James have asked the Department of Health and Environment to help them get rid of the rodents that have invaded their community.

Some concerned local residents reached out to Barbados TODAY to point out the issues that were causing the problem, including an “unofficial” garbage collection area and several old cars used to shelter the rodents.

A woman who spoke on behalf of the residents but did not want to be named said she was living in a miserable situation.

“When I tell you these rats are big, they are like cats and the rats come into people’s yards … you have to shut up early. I can’t leave my back door open, ”she complained, adding that the situation has had a negative impact on her life.

“I can’t live well in my own house because if someone comes in there I’ll run out.”

Fortunately, she said, no one has reported any health problems related to the rodents.

“So far so good, but if you can fix the problem, don’t wait for someone to get sick to do something about it,” she added.

Angry residents pointed out an area problem – a makeshift garbage collection point. A team from Barbados TODAY observed four large rodents in the area of ​​the shed near the street tennis courts frequented by children and local residents.

The spokeswoman said: “We need this step and leave National Housing [Corporation] Come and build one of the nice ones they have around the neighborhood so we can get rid of the rat problem. When it started building it was fine, but we saw a lot of these rats in lockdown last year. “

Residents reported that they had called the Polyclinic and MPs for the Sandra Husbands division but had not yet received any help.

“I spoke to Sandra Husbands and she said she was going to get rat bait, but she didn’t come and said something. But they will wait until they want a vote in the House of the People. We have to clarify that, ”emphasized the spokeswoman.

When Barbados TODAY contacted the husbands, she said, “We will get the bait for them. That’s all we can do but the MTW [Ministry of Transport and Works] are going to take a trip to pick up old cars because we have a big problem in the country with mechanics fixing cars. If you have old things, just leave them there when you have to move them or the owner of the vehicle has to move them. “

“Unfortunately, the government doesn’t enforce the fine on people who do these things. These things are wrong. From time to time the government will alleviate suffering in a community by including it, so I know there have been discussions about having one of these. During this trip we identified a place down there where a number of cars have to move. “

When asked when this would be done to relieve the residents, the MP said, “I would have to check with the ministry when this should happen, but it should happen within a reasonable time.” ([email protected])

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