On the afternoon of the 19th, there is a rat hole about the size of a fist of an adult male made in the flower bed of an apartment in Gyeonggi Province. Jeong Yi-seok, the representative of Namsung Pest Control, explains, “Rats can enter the apartment's basement or sewage system through such holes.” /Courtesy of Choi Jeong-seok

On the 19th, a pest control company specializing in 'rat eradication' responded to an apartment complex in Gyeonggi Province. The representative of One-Stop Pest Control, Jung, kicked the fence of a flower bed, causing three rats to dart out. Jung said, "Given this situation, we should consider that a rat infestation has spread throughout the complex." The apartment management office staff noted, "Complaints about rats have been coming in at a rate of about once every 3 to 4 days this year," adding that "one household reported that four rats appeared consecutively from the sink, ceiling, and refrigerator floor in just one day."

◇Flower bed rat hole→The gap chewed by sewer pipes→Apartment sink and refrigerator floor

The persistent cold in February has been analyzed to drive wild rats to seek relatively warmer apartments. In this apartment, rat entry points have emerged everywhere. A rat hole large enough for an adult man's fist was observed in the flower bed, indicating a way for rats to enter the basement from outside.

In fact, it has been revealed that the rats have occupied the basement areas equipped with various facilities. When he shone a flashlight on the PVC sewer pipes, small gaps and marks of breaks appeared everywhere. Jung said, "The rats widen these gaps with their teeth and then enter. They crawl up inside the sewer, which is why lower floors experience rats coming into their homes."

On the afternoon of the 19th, there is a hole in the sewage pipe installed in the underground sewage system of an apartment in Gyeonggi Province. Jeong Yi-seok, the representative of the pest control company, states, “Rats that enter through such holes climb the pipes and invade the households.” /Courtesy of Choi Jeong-seok

There were also gaps and holes in the concrete or urethane foam ceilings of the apartment's basement. Nearby, there were metal rat traps and sticky traps installed by the management office staff, but rats were not caught; only bugs were trapped. Jung noted, "We need to carefully identify the rats' movement patterns, use poison, and set traps. Nowadays, rats often do not get caught in standard traps."

Jung estimated that it would take at least six months to eradicate the rat population in this apartment. He plans to use various pest control products, including poison and traps that stun rats with electricity when they enter. The expense is estimated to be around 5 million won, and there may be additional charges depending on the situation.

◇Cat mothers feeding stray cats oppose strong rat traps and poison

While residents agree on the need for rat eradication in the apartment, there are often controversies over the methods used. An employee from the apartment management office said, "Before calling the pest control company, we tried to use poison and set traps ourselves, but cat mothers who feed stray cats would often raise their voices over the phone or even remove the traps themselves."

A cat is guarding the trap. /Courtesy of News1

A woman in her 40s, Ms. Kim, who regularly feeds stray cats around the apartment, said, "If innocent cats are harmed, then that pest control is misplaced," adding, "Stray cats sometimes help catch rats, so is there really a need to use poison and traps in the flower bed?" In response, a resident in her 30s, Ms. Lee, noted, "I heard that stray cats used to hunt rats because they were hungry in the past, but nowadays, with cat mothers feeding and giving homes to them, it seems like they do not hunt rats at all and only hinder eradication efforts." Another resident, Mr. Yoo, 54, remarked, "Aren't the cat mothers responsible for the drop in property prices caused by the rats? We should use extremely strong poisons that could make them die just from smelling it to completely eradicate them."

Similar controversies are emerging in other apartments as well. An employee from the management office of an apartment in Seocho District, Seoul, stated on the 20th during a phone call with ChosunBiz, "Recently, after calling a company to place poison and traps throughout the complex, a local cat mother was caught trying to remove them, causing a huge commotion." He added, "Other residents want to completely eliminate the rats using strong poisons and traps, but if that happens, complaints from cat mothers flood the management office, making it very difficult in the middle."

Meanwhile, wildlife protection groups also oppose the use of strong rat poison and traps. A staff member from the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center said, "There are many apartment complexes located near hills or forests, where wildlife come down seeking food and increasingly get caught in sticky traps meant for rats," urging that "strong lethal rat poisons or sticky traps should not be used outdoors as much as possible."

Last year, the center recorded 35 cases of wildlife being trapped in sticky traps in the Chungnam area, the highest since it began compiling statistics in 2011. Also, it has been reported that natural monuments like the kestrel and the Eurasian eagle-owl are caught in sticky traps. Among the 190 wild animals rescued from sticky traps by the center from 2011 to 2023, 45 (23.7%) were kestrels and 4 (2.1%) were Eurasian eagle-owls.