Packs of rats plague popular Aberaeron town centre

The latest pictures were taken on Tuesday afternoon (September 12) by Lisa Lan-Loft.

“I've never seen anything like it,” said Lisa. “It was awful.

“It was in the middle of the afternoon and there were rats all over the seafront pathway which is a part of town that people use all the time.

“I’ve been there so many times at different times of the day, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. It was gross.”

The majority of rats were spotted on North Shore Beach which is adjacent to the harbour entrance.

“There are benches along here where people sit to eat their picnics, and only last Thursday I sat there myself,” continued Lisa.

“Had I known that there were so many rats around, I would never have done this. I really think the council need to address this situation as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile Aberaeron county councillor, Elizabeth Evans, has confirmed that she has been urging the local authority to take urgent action to tackle the town’s rat infestation for several years.

“The problem has been getting worse for a number of years and I’ve spotted the rats myself on numerous occasions just about everywhere in the town,” she said. “This includes the main streets, the harbour and the promenade.”

Cllr Evans believes the escalating problem is the result of the discontinuation of the ‘baiting of sewers’ programme.

“It’s very difficult for a local authority to control rodents above ground because of the effect the bait could have on children and other animals,” she explained.

“The most effective way is when water companies lay bait in the sewer pipes because this is where the rodents like to live.”

Cllr Evans has now requested an urgent update from Ceredigion County Council on when the last ‘sewer bait’ was laid as well as an indication of when the sewer baiting will be able to resume.

Cllr Evans believes that the problem is being further exacerbated by council bins which are fitted with a bung device in the base.  But if the bung isn’t correctly put back in place after the bin has been emptied and cleaned, the rats can climb inside.

“I’ve asked Ceredigion County Council to ensure that the bungs are put properly back each time they’re taken out as this is another way of trying to alleviate the problem,” she said.

“Rats are extremely shy little creatures, so when you see them in the daylight as regularly as they are being seen in Aberaeron at the moment, you know the problem is considerable.

“I’ve been raising these concerns for a number of years. Let’s now make sure that the matter gets resolved as soon as possible.”