Months-long wait for rat infestation call outs

Residents in Coventry are having to wait three months for rat infestations to be tackled.

Councillor Patricia Hetherton said there were currently 437 outstanding pest control cases, with residents waiting around 12 weeks on average for treatment.

The issue was raised by Wainbody councillor Mattie Heaven who said one of her constituents on St Martin's Road in Finham had been dealing with an infestation for over six months and it had not been resolved.

Additional funding had been allocated to the pest control service, Hetherton said, and recruitment was underway to "increase staffing levels, strengthen operational capacity and improve response times for residents."

Heaven pressed the council on what action the council is taking to reduce the backlog and tackle infestations.

Figures published by the council show it treated 2,054 cases of rat infestations in 2025/2026 and that between April and July this year it had treated 556 cases.

This is lower than the 2,457 rat treatments undertaken in 2022/2023 and the 2,518 in 2023/2024. Numbers for 2024/2025 are not available because a new data recording system was introduced.

A review of the service was undertaken to identify measures to protect and enhance the pest control services provided to residents in the face of increasing demand, Hetherton said.

"Requests typically increase during warmer months when pest activity is higher, which can lead to longer response times," she added.

She admitted that there had been a problem with recruitment which "meant the waiting list has been longer".

"I think we are on top of that now, and some of the other initiatives we are taking should make a difference here," she said.

Hetherton agreed to raise concerns with council officers to speed up responses to rat infestations across the city.

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