Strabane family’s ‘living hell’ after rats get into their house

A BALLYCOLMAN mother-of-three says her house “no longer feels like a home” after a rat infestation has left her children too terrified to eat or sleep under their own roof.

Tracy McColgan says the situation has been a “living hell” for weeks, after discovering rodent droppings in her kitchen cupboards. Two of her children are autistic, and since the discovery, all three have refused to eat any food prepared in the kitchen, forcing her to rely on costly takeaways.

“I heard noises in the attic six weeks ago but didn’t know what it was until three weeks later when I reached into a kitchen cupboard to get out the toastie maker and saw adult-size rat droppings,” Tracy said. “Another cupboard had smaller dropping from the baby rats. Disgusted, I immediately phoned the Housing Executive emergency line who sent out a joiner of all things. He told me ‘it’s not my job to do this’ but he reluctantly removed the droppings and did his best to secure the cupboards.”

Tracy says that since the initial incident, she’s made daily visits to the Housing Executive offices and has repeatedly phoned in a desperate attempt to have the issue resolved.

“During one call the person on the phone said ‘if you’re that bothered, go buy a rat trap’ which I find a shocking attitude,” she said.

“It’s alright for them to say that, they don’t have three children terrified to eat or even sleep in their own house for fear of a rat coming into their rooms. They spend a lot of time with their father and grandfather as a result. I have a letter from Social Services saying that my children are being absolutely traumatised by the situation; a bite or scratch from a rat could be deadly.”

While traps were eventually laid by pest control and have caught several rats, Tracy says communication and reassurance have been lacking.

“On asking whether the house was safe, I was advised ‘wear gloves at all times.’”

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the Housing Executive confirmed they were made aware of a “suspected rodent issue” a fortnight ago and said they have been treating it “as a matter of priority.”

“We have also been made aware of concerns from neighbouring properties and have visited the property on a number of occasions to identify the source of the problem,” the spokesperson said. “Our building contractor has identified and closed off any potential rodent access points. An identified overgrown area to the rear of the property will be cleared and cleaned.

“In addition, a CCTV inspection of drains was carried out on June 19. Other additional remedial works at this property will be carried out within the next three weeks. We will be carrying out a further inspection in the next few days to see if there has been any further rodent activity in the property and will continue to work with the affected residents. We are committed to resolving this issue.”