Rodent infestation causes a stir in Edenvale
The Voortrekker Avenue resident said the rodents only became a problem after the taxi rank was established.
With rodents running rampant throughout his property, Edenvale resident Fred Mayer is at his wit’s end.
According to Mayer, the problem stems from Edenvale CBD’s taxi rank which he describes has become a haven for rodents.
Mayer believes the lack of bylaw enforcement, unsanitary conditions, stagnant water, food scraps and public urination have contributed to the growth of the rat population in the area.
The Voortrekker Avenue resident said the rodents only became a problem after the taxi rank was established.
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Mayer said he and his family had lived on Voortrekker Avenue long before Van Riebeeck Shopping Mall was established.
“We have to live with this situation, with rotten food scraps, stagnant water, and urine flowing onto the road. “We have been to the municipality to report the situation. The problem persists,” said Mayer.
“How can we be expected to live this, there is nobody who lives with rats happily by choice.”
“At night we can hear them in the ceiling and it sounds like a soccer match going on above us,” said Mayer.
Mayer explained that the rodents continuously cause damage to his and his wife’s vehicles.
Seeking warmth it seems the rats get inside the engine bays of the vehicles. Thye then cause havoc by chewing on engine components as well as the wiring of the cars.
Mayer, an avid gardener, has had to stop his hydroponic growth system. He said as fast as the vegetables grow they would be eaten by the rodents.
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“They thought that I was planting vegetables for them.”
Mayer explained that with no help from the municipality he and his family need to protect their property.
They make use of rat poison and mothballs around the property and in the engine bays to deter them.
Mayer said on average the family stocks up on rat poison eight times a month.
A request for comment was sent to the City of Ekurhuleni on April 22 requesting comment by April 24 at 14:00.
At the time of going to print no comment was received.
