The City of Brussels has set up a pest control task force and tripled the budget for rat control efforts, Philippe Close, Mayor of the City of Brussels has announced after videos emerged showing a rat infestation in the pedestrian precinct in the city centre. “Since monitoring began in February, more than a thousand rats have been caught”, the mayor told reporters.
Large holes in the ground, half-uprooted saplings and patches of blue rat poison here and there: anyone walking through the pedestrian zone would find it hard to miss. The pedestrian zone seems to be in the grip of a rat infestation.
The City of Brussels has now made rat control efforts a priority, says Mayor Close. A task force has been set up, and the budget for rat control efforts has been increased from 35,000 to 100,000 euros.
A thousand rats already caught
“The results are here,” says the mayor. “Since measurements began in February this year, 1,073 rats have been caught in the course of 137 operations. Since 2025, there have been more than two thousand operations in total.”
According to Mayor Close, operations and measures were stepped up further during the hot summer months. He also emphasises that shopkeepers and hospitality businesses can call on the pest control service free of charge.
Nevertheless, criticism is being voiced from the opposition benches on Brussels city council. “I’m not hearing from shopkeepers in the pedestrian zone that the pest control effort is a success,” says Flemish ecologist councillor Stoops.
According to Stoops, more needs to be done quickly to make the pedestrian zone a liveable place once again. “Can you imagine it taking this long on the Champs-Élysées in Paris? It is also a shame that biodiversity wasn’t taken into account at an earlier stage as an option for deterring rats.”