City of Costa crowded with rats

A kilo and a half of fat needed Mario San Martín, exterminator with 25 years in the business, to kill the largest rat invasion that saw Canelones Coast this summer. "The normal thing is to die with a few grams," he told The Observer. The plague that terrorized an elderly Spa Villa Argentina made him realize the worker that this is not an ordinary crop.

The breeding season of these rodents occurs between October and November. The summer heat forces them to abandon burrows and, therefore, is "normal" to increase the work of pest control companies. But the feature of this summer, is that most of the calls come from homes located between kilometers 22 and 26, Ciudad de la Costa, among Lagomar and Solymar.

"On average we attend 15 calls per day from that area, before we had two in the department," said San Martin, head of the company Fumiplaga Las Toscas. Five other calls come from other parts of the coast. A Baits costs between $ 2,500 and $ 3,500.

Fumigators area surveyed by The Observer agreed that another factor that cooperated in rodents come to the surface: the removal of land made by the works of sanitation, storm drainage and roads that were made last year and are now detained.

To this was added a week without garbage collection (a feast for rodents) and high rainfall this summer. "By removing the land, the rats feel attacked and seek new habitat," said Martin.

Horacio Rivera, Integral House, adding that the combo of rain and open windows leads to seek shelter indoors while high temperatures accelerate playback. His company received on January 40 called by rodents in the coast. Two lights that attract rats boundaries are vacant lots and abandoned houses. Also preferred ceilings (as in the house of Villa Argentina), woodpiles, junk engines and refrigerators.

However, Leonardo Herou, director of Environmental Management Comuna Canaria, said it has not increased the number of applications for control of pests and vectors, but The Observer noted with businesses and residents themselves that they choose to directly call private because municipal care is delayed, or does not end with the plague.

Invisible Enemy

Contact with companies occurs after hearing noises in the night, or after a sighting, in particular the young farmers told The Observer, are not as secretive attitude of adult specimens. "The rat is an invisible and very dangerous enemy. People live with it and do not know, "said the technician Fumiplaga.

Rats can transmit leptospirosis, a disease like hepatitis but with a higher risk, in addition to various skin infections. The prevalence of leptospirosis in the country is undervalued because it can be confused with flu symptoms.

Another element is the availability of food. An overworked, or trash around, or even dog food outdoors, container attracts rats. "The first thing you have to provide a control Baits not leave food or water available to the rats. [With containers] do what not to do, "said an exterminator who declined to give his name.

The most common species seen in Ciudad de la Costa are the black rat and the brown rat. The first lives in the mountains, the second preferred enter homes as the home of the old Villa Argentina. "Kilos and kilos of tallow ate" San Martín illustrated.

The sebum produces a satiety effect in rats. Just the third day start to die the first copies, including the leader of the community. The rest stops eating and dies for fear of hunger and thirst. When this happened, the old woman called back to Fumiplaga because "maggots began falling from the ceiling."

The rat population is not quantifiable. Internationally, it is estimated that five to seven rats per person. If it moves, for example, to Montevideo, the number of rats is more than twice the population of the whole country.