Hundreds of Bait Stations Deployed in Westmoreland to Control Rodent Population

The Westmoreland Public Health Department has deployed more than 1,500 bait stations in several communities as part of its ongoing rodent control programme across the parish.

Chief Public Health Inspector for Westmoreland, Steve Morris, said the initiative has already yielded measurable results, with a significant level of bait uptake recorded in targeted areas.

“At the end of February, we had set 1,599 bait stations, and revisited 1,059 of them,” Mr. Morris reported.

He was speaking at the recent monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, held in Savanna-la-Mar.

Mr. Morris highlighted that the programme has recorded a 54 per cent uptake of bait at monitored sites, indicating active rodent presence.

He added that the rodent control initiative has been expanded to several communities, with teams also revisiting previously treated areas.

Mr. Morris is urging residents to cooperate with the intervention by allowing bait stations to remain undisturbed to ensure accurate monitoring.

“We continue to implore our residents not to remove these bait stations or the baits from them,” he encouraged.

“The team will revisit them and rebait them, so that we can know if it’s really the rodents that are taking the bait,” he explained.

Mr. Morris further advised that the programme will continue to be extended to other communities based on reports from residents.

Turning to other matters, Mr. Morris provided an update on shelter occupancy across the parish, noting that several residents remain displaced as recovery efforts continue.

“We still have 16 active shelters in the parish, with 158 residents still in there,” he stated.

He acknowledged that while progress is being made, additional work is required to fully restore normalcy for affected residents.

The update forms part of ongoing efforts by public health authorities and local stakeholders to address environmental health concerns and support communities impacted by recent adverse weather events.