Recent heavy rainfalls force rats out of rat holes
SNGAPORE : The recent heavy rainfalls are suspected to have forced rats out of their homes.
In fact, in the past year, some pest control companies said business has increased 10 to 50 per cent.
And more than half of their assignments are rat exterminations.
Although it's a rare occurrence, they believe the infestation could be linked to heavy downpours.
For instance, close to 20 rat holes can be found in a 100-metre grass patch.
When water seeps into these holes, rats are forced out into the open air.
Some pest control companies suspect the environment also plays a part, since the grass patch is juxtaposed between a food court and a canal.
They are advising stallholders to maintain cleanliness of their food and the public to bag their refuse. - CNA /ls
By Sien Wee
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I feel that it might be true that the heavy downpour could be the cause of the increase in the number of rats’ infections. However, for the example given in the article, since the grass patch is between a food court and a canal. The high number of rats living in the grass patch was probably due to the food court. It might have been cause by the food count who does not have proper cleanliness or the neglect of properly disposing of the waste that cause the high amount of rats. If the cleanliness was maintained, there should not be that many rats even if the rat holes were flooded. In any case, I am quite sure that the heavy downpour this year will still continue. People should make an effort to leave their foods around to prevent more infestation of rats.
By Yee Hong.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I agree that heavy rainfalls forced rats out of rat holes to a certain extent. There had been heavy rainfalls in Singapore the past one month which caused floods in certain areas of Singapore. Because of the water submerged in the underground of Singapore, the rats have no choice but to "move house". This lead to an increase numbers of rats in the town areas especially food courts where those rats will make a "new home" nearby in order to get easy to hunt for foods.
However, there is another reason which makes the rats to move out of their rat holes. The reason is caused by the nearby food courts which are not clean enough causing rats to shift their "homes" nearer to the food courts.
Overall, no matter it is cause by heavy downpours or cause by the nearby food courts, the most important thing is to keep Singapore a clean city to live in. With this mindset, Singapore City will be clean and will stay away from pests.
By Dewei.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I think that the recent heavy rainfalls are the main reason that rats are forced out of their homes. This is because through the news, it has shown that the heavy rainfalls have caused floods as high as one metre. Thus, the rainwater might have flooded the rats’ homes, and this caused the rats to leave with no choice but to come out of their homes in order to breathe in air.
However, it amazed me when the article wrote that 20 rat holes can be found in a 100-metre grass patch. The pest control companies have also said that more than half of their assignments are rat exterminations. This shows that there are many rats living in the grass patches and around Singapore. As a result, Singapore might be facing hygiene problems in the future as rats carry lots of germs and virus.
I agreed with the pest control companies that said the environment also plays a part. This is because the grass patches that the rats lived in are planted closely between a canal and a food court. Thus the rats might have come from the canal in search of food in the near-by food court. Therefore, I think that the stallholders should hold responsibilities in maintaining cleanliness of their food and disposing the waste properly.
In conclusion, I think that the Singapore Government should take actions in order to keep the environment clean. They should have hired more pest control companies to conduct a thorough check on the possible places that may have rats and exterminate them.
Adeline
ReplyDeleteI agree that the recent heavy rainfalls are the main cause that forced rats out of their homes. This is because when water seeps into these holes, rats are forced out into the open air. Another reason that might cause the rats out of their homes is that the grass patch is juxtaposed between a food court and a canal. Therefore, the rats might be searching for food near the food court.
It is not surprising that pest control companies have half of their assignments that are rat exterminations. This is because I have seen many rats around Singapore at many areas to the extent that I even come across rats in my school toilet!
I think that the Ministry of Health and Environment should take immediate action against rats as rats are dangerous household pests that spread disease through defecation and decay. If the food is contaminated by rats, the consumers will get food poisoning.
I agree that they should strongly urge stallholders to maintain cleanliness of their food and the public to bag their refuse. In addition, they can inspect the cleanliness of the hawker centre and food court regularly to ensure that the place is clean for the benefit of the consumers.
By Yeh Gee
ReplyDeleteThis situation shows the seriousness of the rat problem in Singapore. Rats usually come out at night, when there are less people in the streets, thus they caught less attention. However, due to the recent heavy downpour, rats were forced out of their homes, which caused them to appear in board daylight. The public had seen them running about in the streets, which led to their understanding of the seriousness of the rat problem.
To my knowledge, there was a rat problem previously at the Orchard Road area. Due to the recent heavy rainfalls, it had gotten more serious.
In addition, it is true that in the recent month, there were more complaints about rats observed at coffee shops and hawker centres in Singapore.
Stallholders may not have kept their food stalls clean or disposed of their leftover food properly, thus they have attracted rats. Rats should have been well fed and have multiplied quickly, and caused the serious rat problem.
Therefore, it is advisable that stallholders wash and clean their food stalls thoroughly and dispose of their leftover food properly. They should also keep their ingredients in the refrigerator or air-tight containers, so that rats will be unable to get the food. Cleaners should also make sure that the eating area are washed and cleaned every day after business hours. In addition, the public should not throw their food on the streets and open area or in the bushes.
In conclusion, everyone has a part to play to solve this rat problem.
After reading this article, I am quite shocked at how Singapore's environmental concerns have changed so drastically. Since some of these locations such as food courts and hawker places are situated near canals or dirty places, rats have increasing appeared after heavy rainfall. It is quite disturbing to know such environmental issues are increasing in Singapore. Yet, some people do not make the effort to clean these places. Perhaps the health ministers should play a part in this, to make people realise that such a hazardous thing is happening in Singapore. If everyone helps in keeping Singapore clean and free from all these pests, (and not just rats) I am sure it would be a much cleaner and healthier place to live in! Singapore, Clean and green!
ReplyDelete