A rat hunt will be conducted in Paris, the French capital. Rats have invaded Paris, we find them everywhere: in squares, parks, building halls… There are several million rodents. (Ref. French TV newscast of Friday, December 9, 2016).
The city has launched a campaign of deratization. The problem is both health, aesthetic and economic. Rats give a very bad image of the capital, which is a flagship destination for tourists.
The town hall reacted, here’s how…
Paris parks overrun by rats
The proliferation of rats particularly affects several sites in Paris:
The Champ-de-Mars, which will be partially fenced off for deratisation
Four gardens in the 4th arrondissement
Langlois Square (fourth)
The Saint-Gervais Hospitals School is also treated against rodents
• the square of the Saint-Jacques tower: 38 boxes of bait were deposited with 114 blocks of rat poison products – closed and processed since November 29
– Villemin Garden (Xe), closed and treated since November 29
Cambronne and Garibaldi Squares, in the 15th
The Rose Garden (fourth), closed since 30 November
– the Square of the Rocket and the median of Boulevard Richard-Lenoir will be treated
But a big city like Marseille is not spared. Rodents are estimated to be close to eight million in the Phocaean city.
Rats are rodents that can transmit diseases. They are really a health threat, although there is no longer the plague, we are not in the Middle Ages!
The town hall said that: ” This immediate action plan will continue in the coming weeks with a series of punch operations on the other infested sites “
Appeler René Gélinas Votre exterminateur local, Expérience et intégrité dans la gestion parasitaire
Tel 514 830 2819
Hantavirus, definition and mode of transmission
Hantavirus is a severe lung syndrome caused by a virus. It is secreted in the urine, feces and saliva of infected animals. Most often these are rodents. When humans come into direct or indirect contact with these secretions, the virus is transmitted to them. Ditto when they are bitten by infected rodents.
However, the virus is not transmitted from human to human, only from animal to human. This type of disease is called zoonoses because they can only be transmitted to humans through an animal. It has been found that domestic animals (apart from the domestic rat) and livestock cannot contract hantavirus so there is every reason to believe that only rodents can carry it.
Symptoms of hantavirus
Being a lung disease, one of the characteristic symptoms of hantavirus is difficulty breathing. At the beginning of the disease, the infected person begins to feel fever, chills, headache and muscle pain.
It is about two weeks after the appearance of the first symptoms that they are usually accompanied by a feeling of shortness of breath. Nevertheless, this last manifestation of the disease can be observed after two days as after six weeks; it depends on the organism of the individual.
Hantavirus can also lead to kidney disease or infection. And although they are rare and very few people are prone to them, there is currently no treatment to combat these ailments. It is therefore better to be careful not to contract them.
Rat Invasion: Why?
Cities are transforming with more green spaces made up of bushes. These are places for rat development. But the origin of the problem comes mainly from the garbage cans. Waste is left in the streets, outside the garbage cans, which provides a real feast for rats.
Deratisation: what means are used?
The means used to eradicate rats are classic: rat traps, raticides,poison bait and a technical cleaning team.
The mission of the city’s agents will also be to change the bad habits of citizens. A communication campaign will be launched to educate citizens: for example, not to feed pigeons, and therefore rats. Tickets are issued for anyone who unloads their garbage cans out of containers.
Health techniques and regulations on raticides have evolved. Disseminating poisoned seeds is prohibited because they can kill birds and pets. New traps are at the experimental stage: these are boxes with a hole through which rats enter and find the poison.
The town hall became aware of the problem and an international seminar on “the strategy of managing rats in urban areas” was held. Christophe Girard, mayor of the Ive, put this issue on the agenda of his last borough council “to fight against the resurgence of these pests”.
Breeding ultra-fast rats
And here’s a crazy reproduction of rats,an impressive graph:
A couple of rats with sexual maturation give about 4 litters per year. Gestation lasts 1 month. Each litter has 8 raccoons. The calculation is quickly done: the couple gives 32 small rats in one year.
After 6 months, the first generation reproduced and the colony already has about fifty rats.
The couple at the end of their lives will have given birth to about 1,000 descendants in total.
Rat breeding is very rapid, making it difficult to eradicate the rodent population. There is a need for integrated pest management managed by experienced pest experts trained in this intervention and in the use of rat poison products.
You who live in Quebec, if you spot rats in your environment call the town hall, if it happens at home call the exterminator
