Jeddah residents want cats used against rats

Traps and insecticides to kill the rats, which have proven ineffective, are still being used to fend off the rats in people’s houses. (Reuters)

JEDDAH: The number of rodents in the streets are increasing across Jeddah, with residents calling on officials to use the British example to fight the rodents by setting cats on them.
Jeddah residents said that despite the existence of programs to fight the rodents, the situation is no longer controllable. Khaled Alharithi from the Alazizyia neighbourhood said that everyone is suffering because of the rats and other rodents in the streets and neighbourhoods, and blamed rubbish in the streets, including dried bread, food, old furniture and more, for the infestation.
Traps and insecticides to kill the rats, which have proven ineffective, are still being used to fend off the rats in people’s houses. “What we need is to use cats to fight the rats! This is a British idea that proved successful in the end,” Alharithi said.
Mohammad Alzaaqi from Bani Malek neighborhood said that the lack of pesticides and the lack of rodent catchers and poison is not helping the fight against them.
Muaidh Albaqmi, another resident, said that he is surprised at the failure of the Jeddah Municipality in fighting the rodents. He said that despite the reassurances from officials who said that they are now using new techniques, he said that the way to solve the problem is to dry up the sources of food for the rats, such as garbage dumps.
Nasser Almutairi from Quweyza said that the rat burrows have created cracks in the walls and are even causing them to collapse in some areas.
Meanwhile, a recent study showed that a pair of rats can mate and start up an “empire of rats” of more than 1,000 members. The corniche and South Jeddah neighbourhoods, including the the downtown area, are the areas with the largest rat problems.
Environmental expert Dr. Abdulrahman Alhumaidi considered the spread of rats in Jeddah to be one of the most important threats to human health at the moment.
He said that they are spreading within neighborhoods and along the corniche.
Jeddah Municipality spokesman Mohammad Albaqmi said that the efforts to fight rights and other insects is ongoing and that a new initiative valued at SR60 million has recently been launched to clear them away,.
The British Parliament first thought of reverting to cats to limit the spread of rats in the Westminster Palace, but a Saudi study showed that to end the infestation, a large number of cats would be required.