Sewer Baiting For Rats In The United Kingdom – Is It Money Down The Drain?

Abstract:
In November 2000, Water UK (a representative organisation which brings together all the water and waste water utilities) and the Local Government Association (A national voice for local government in the UK), published the National Sewer Baiting Protocol which listed a number of principles that Water and Sewerage Companies (WASC) and local authorities (LAs) were expected to follow when undertaking sewer baiting programmes. The protocol was intended to provide LAs and WASC with a basis for closer working relationships, with the aim of streamlining spending whilst tacking the issue of rats in sewer networks; preventing ineffective spending and inefficient treatments. The National Pest Advisory Panel (NPAP) (a panel of experts offering advice and guidance to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)) strongly support the suggestion that Control of rats in sewers and drains is an essential part of any rat treatment on the surface. NPAP sent a detailed survey to all LAs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2002 (n=406) and again in 2012 (n=368), exploring their approaches to sewer baiting pest management in order to monitor the LAs and WASC sewer baiting activities to assess how these may have changed over time, and highlighting if baiting activities are effective and efficient.