The pedestrian zone on the Anspachlaan in the City of Brussels is plagued by a new rat infestation. Discarded fast-food scraps and bread are a real treat for these critters.
On Saturday evening, passers-by in the pedestrian zone at the heart of Brussels were surprised to see several rats running fearlessly back and forth in a building site near Le Grand Café. Such activity points to a severe rat infestation.
The pedestrian zone has been struggling with a rat problem for some time, but during the exceptionally hot summer, the creatures seemed to have largely disappeared from the surface. They were presumably seeking relief from the heat in the sewers. Now that temperatures are bearable again and there are regular showers, the rats are reappearing.
Digital rat traps
Anas Ben Abdelmoumen, Alderman for Public Cleanliness in the City, has been aware of the issue for some time and posted about the problem on Instagram as recently as last Friday. This summer, he had 15 smart digital rat traps installed in the pedestrian zone, following successful trials near the Atomium.
These traps are high-tech devices that not only attract and trap the rats but also record real-time data on how often the rats visit. This provides an insight into the size of the local rat population. The digital rat traps, an innovation produced by the Belgian company Strygoo, come in addition to the usual everyday pest control efforts.
‘Burgerisation’
As well as stepping up rat control measures, a more structural solution would, of course, be to make the pedestrian zone less attractive to rats looking for food.
Here, fast-food reigns supreme, one snack bar follows the next other. The city council is asking restaurant owners to take extra care to secure their rubbish bags. Consumers must also do their bit. Councillor Ben Abdelmoumen is calling on the public not to leave food scraps on the street.
“Some people dump whole loaves of bread or pizzas, others the leftovers from their fast-food meals. For rats, all of this is a feast,” explains his spokesperson, Andreas De Kerpel.
This includes both members of the public who, with good intentions, want to leave food out for the birds but give too little thought to the consequences, and thoughtless passers-by who, out of sheer laziness, throw their food scraps onto the street.
The City of Brussels hopes to curb the rat infestation through a combination of education and deterrent fines.