Rodent problem

LegacyUser

I am at a loss at the moment I can no longer let my kids out to play in our back garden. I live in a fairly pleasant estate in a commuter town in North County Dublin. I get on with my neighbours and there is a great camradery in the estate.

However in the last year my nextdoor neighbours have let their house go to hell. It really is an awful kip (on the outside at least). Now I know the personal details of what goes on inside the 4 walls of the property are none of my business but that is not my problem. The front garden is full of rubbush, the paint on the house is flaking off and messy as hell.

My main gripe is that their back garden is an awful sh!thole. The grass is literally about 6 foor tall. The bushes have taken to growing upward and outward. the garden has overgrown to such an extent you can no longer see the clothesline or the shed and fhe foothpath has come apart (literally). They back door is open 24/7 and there is rubbish all over the garden. When their friends are over I have seen them p!ssing out the back door into the garden. The mother moved out ages ago and the place is getting worse and worse. The 3 of them are in their early to mid 20's an none of them work but all they do is drink, party and make noise. I trimmed the bits of bush that came over the wall into my garden and I was told in no uncertain terms to f**k off away from their bushes.

My garden has become a pit for dead rodents as a resut of my cat getting her hands on them and I've taken 3 or 4 off her in the last 2 weeks alone. I have asked them on two separate occassions to tidy up the garden but each time I have been met with righteous indignance from them. When I approached their mother I was told "I don't live their now so its nothing to do with me anymore" (she owns the house).

One of the other neighbours has said that I should ring the gardai but I doubt they will entertain me calling about a dirty garden.

I don't know what to do. Is there anyone I can speak to that can get some sort of health and safety authority out and make them clean up their own mess. I don't want my kids getting ill as a result of their laziness.

Neyite

OP, there is an accommodation and property forum that might give you better answers, but it doesn't permit anonymous posting so you would have post under a registered username there. I'll leave it here for now.

Have you tried asking your local authority? You are right that the Gardai will probably consider it a civil matter, but your LA might have solutions for you.

ravima

Get onto your local authority and if house is rented, then also get onto PRTB. Landlords have obligations and duties towards neighbours and tenants havd obligations and duties also.

Take photos of the living and dead rats as well as general pictures of garden adn also keep a notebook detailing events.

Finally, good luck!

jellyboy

if you rang the hse in the area where you live they could guide you..
as far as I'm aware they have environmental health officers whose job it is to investigate matters as you describe ..

its a health hazard .. and I'm sure they can fine if nothing is done


http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Publications/services/Environmentalhealth/Rodent_Control_for_Householders.pdf

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/environ/Contact.html

hope this helps