– On my small farm, I put out small piles of concentrate, and sat up on a mountain ledge. Then I could shoot them with caliber 22. It was very effective, but I can hardly do it down in the field. I’m not taking a chance on that. That’s what Birte Nydal, self-proclaimed “hunting lady” and hunter, says. She lives in Marken, right in the center of Bergen. There she has started a fight against rats, which have seriously taken over the center of the city. In the evenings, the small rodents swarm in the bushes and brushwood. It started with the power steering and lights not working on her and her husband’s cars. Then they discovered a rat’s nest in the car engine. – The rats had dragged a lot of dog food into the car and left a lot of dirt, and gnawed on all the wiring, she explains. HUNTER: Birte Nydal is a hunter and “hunting lady”. Photographed here when she was hunting other critters than rats. Photo: Privat Took rat food out of the blue Now the municipality is demanding action, and the city council wants its own “rat regulation” with a ban on feeding wild birds and animals in the city. Nydal said that a woman walks around the area and places large piles of dog pellets in several places, perhaps every night. One night the man kept watch at Nydal. – He caught her off guard and said she had to stop doing this. After that, Nydal believes that no dog food has been placed outside their house. – But she puts out the food in many other places in the area. IN FELLA: Here, two rats have fallen into Birte Nydal’s trap. Now she wants a ban on feeding rats and birds. Photo: Birte Nydal Last Thursday she saw the woman again. – I was angry and took the food from her. Then she was sad, because she had intended to feed the ducks in Lille Lungegårdsvann. It was a beautiful lady, with a large bag of dog food in her hand. I tried to talk her into sense. Nydal asked the woman why she was dumping loads of dog food around on pavements and streets. – She said that she does this to feed the birds, and that there are ten people: five Norwegian and five foreign. She claimed they bought the food for NOK 60 from Animal Protection. And they go and put the food out at night to avoid meeting people. Now she believes that it should be forbidden to feed birds and other animals in the city. – The municipality has started with extra feeding twice a day, but with all these kilos of dog food, it is a lost battle before it is banned, Birte Nydal believes. New dog pellets are strewn every morning at the bus stop by Stadsporten, according to Birte Nydal. Photo: Birte Nydal Providing food for the birds There are some rats in all cities, but recently there has been more than usual, according to Trude Jordal, head of outdoor operations at the Urban Environment Agency. Reason? More food. – There is an extremely large supply of food for the rats now. There are large piles of food that are put out for the birds, which the rats enjoy, says Jordal. She urges people to feed the birds in moderation, to see that the birds eat it up, and not to throw nests on the ground. Trude Jordal, head of outdoor operations at the Urban Environment Agency, says ordinary measures are not enough to overcome the rat problem. Photo: Gerd Johanne Braadland / news – Throw waste in the settlement! Jordal says the municipality has agreements with a pest company with non-toxic traps that will be increased if necessary, but that it is not enough. – With the food supply they have now, the next step is a joint effort, says Jordal. There are a lot of rats in the center of Bergen. Too many, many would argue. To catch a rat, you have to think like a rat Frode Mjelde Thuland is a consultant at Anticimex, and has caught the rat on several rodents up through. He believes the pandemic is one reason why there have been more rats in the city, and that the increased access to food is due to the fact that there are more of them in the cityscape now than before. To catch a rat, you have to think like a rat, Thuland believes, and he knows exactly how. Here, a person has put out cooked rice and dog food for the birds. But it is the rats who feed themselves. Photo: Bymiljøetaten Bergen – They are extremely shy, and notice every single change in their environment. They see very poorly, and use their other senses well. You always have to keep that in mind, says Thuland. He says the most effective measure is when traps that kill them whole are placed in the sumps – 90 per cent of the rats live in the sumps, and the ones that come to the surface are the ones that may be left over, says Thuland. Feeding birds may be banned Councilor for the environment, climate and urban development, Ingrid Nergaard Fjeldstad, is one of several who want to control the rats. She has proposed a regulation to get rid of the problem. – It will make it forbidden to feed wild animals, such as rats, says Fjeldstad. City Council for the Environment, Climate and Urban Development, Ingrid Nergaard Fjeldstad (V), has proposed a separate rat regulation. Photo: Leif Rune Løland This means that it will also be illegal to feed birds in the city. – How can it be enforced? – There are many ways. Now I am waiting for a solution, but I will consider the proposals that come. But we must first of all ban it, the city council states.
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Soft food causes rats to take over central Bergen – news Vestland
