Rats

Rat Nuisance

One cause of rat nuisance is garbage and food scraps in the street or garden. Rats are part of urban nature, but too many rats, no one wants that. Rats can spread disease and damage buildings. One way to prevent rat infestation is to avoid feeding animals, because the leftover food attracts rats.

Are you experiencing a nuisance from rats on your own property? Then call in a pest control company. There are several companies in and around Zoetermeer that can help you. Check KAD, NVPB or PPN for more information. Also report the nuisance to the municipality via the contact formor themunicipality app. If necessary, the municipality will take measures in the public area.

What can you do to prevent rats?

• Do not throw trash or food scraps on the street.
• Put your garbage bags in the container. Do not put bags or loose trash next to it.
• Store pet food properly. Do not leave food lying around in and around your home/building.
• Store garbage in closed containers and lockable trash cans.
• Seal holes and cracks in and around the home. Make sure rats have nowhere to hide under or in them.
• Repair or replace broken sewer pipes, downspouts, vents and tiles.
• Are you a tenant? Your landlord is responsible for proper maintenance of the property. Therefore, report rat nuisance to your landlord as well, in connection with repairs.

For more information and tips, visit KAD | Rats and Mice.

What to do with old bread and food scraps?

Do you have old bread or food scraps left over? Don't feed it to the animals outside on the street or in the park, but put it in the Vegetable, Fruit, Garden and Food Waste container (GFT+E). By collecting food waste separately, it is not wasted. For example, it is turned into biogas or another raw material. To make the collection of GFT+E waste as easy as possible, you can pick up a special waste garbage can for your home free of charge. You can pick up the garbage cans (while supplies last) at City Hall or at the Zelfbrengdepot at Argonstraat.

By being smart with leftovers, you need to throw away less. You can often make a hearty meal out of leftovers. For tips, see Food Center | Cooking with leftovers and leftovers.

Feed ban

Within built-up areas, it is not allowed to feed animals. For further explanation see Join | Feeding Ban.

Report rat nuisance

Do you see a rat in public spaces, such as on the street or in the park? Then make a report via the contact form or the municipality app. For more information on how to make a report, go to Report living and living environment (public space).

After a report we investigate the situation and if necessary we take action. We try to do this as animal-friendly as possible. First, we limit the food and places where rats hide. When these measures do not help (enough), we set traps. In extreme cases, we use chemical pesticides.