Rats

Rats are part of urban nature, but are increasingly causing a nuisance. They can spread disease and they gnaw away at many things. Preventing rats is a lot easier than fighting them. It is therefore important to keep the city clean. Will you help?

What can you do to prevent rats?

  • Adhere to the feeding ban in town. You may not feed animals outside your own property. The food scraps left behind attract rats. For further explanation see Join us | Feed Ban.
  • 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, as litter also attracts rats.
  • 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.

Also report the nuisance to the municipality via the contact formor theBuitenBeter app. If necessary, the municipality will take measures in the public area.

What to do with old bread and food scraps?

Do you have old bread or food scraps left over and think it's a waste to throw it away? Don't feed it to the animals on the street or in the park, but put it in the Vegetable, Fruit, Garden and Food Waste container (GFT+E). By throwing away food scraps here, they are reused. For example, they are turned into biogas or compost. To make it as easy as possible for you, you can pick up a GFT+E garbage can free of charge at City Hall or at the Self-Disposal Centre on Argonstraat.

Report rat nuisance

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 out KAD, NVPB or PPN for more information.

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 BuitenBeter app. After a report we investigate the situation and if necessary we take measures. 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. For more information about how to file a report, go to Notification of living environment (public space).