Scotland’s poorest renters are seeing an invasion of disease-carrying pests including rats, cockroaches and bed bugs invade their social housing homes.
A new shock report has revealed that insects and rodents have swarmed into homes since 2019. The investigation carried out by Glasgow Live has discovered that Glasgow has seen reports double – making it the pest capital of the country.
A Freedom of Information Request sent to every Scots council and housing association, shows that reports have majorly increased from 22,967 to 31,557 between 2019 and 2023 across Scotland. In Glasgow numbers shot from 4383 to 7790. However it is feared that the true number is expected to be much higher with multiple housing associations and councils either not holding the same data or declining to release it.
According to reports Glasgow City Council is among those local authorities who don’t collect data on social housing reports. That is despite multiple housing associations telling residents to report directly to the council. The council says that across the city the number of pests has sky rocketed from 10,871 to 12,799. Of this there has been an extra 3,000 rat sightings.
In November, Glasgow resident Craig Lawrie told how he had been forced to live in inhumane conditions due to a rat infestation. The 42-year-old Tollcross Housing Association resident told Glasgow Live how he was catching two a day at his Lilybank property and that they had even chased a workman – sent to fix entry gaps in the gas pipes and behind the kitchen cabinets – out of the home.
Our sister news website also toured areas near Maryhill Road with campaigning resident Breda McLaughlin, in July. The 56-year-old held a public meeting over concerns and was met with elderly residents who said that rats had invaded the area and specifically their Queen’s Cross Housing properties.
Shocked witnesses reported seeing rodents “fighting in the street at night” – while some said their homes had been swept with bed bugs. One woman said she had maggots ‘dropping through her ceiling’.
A resident, who asked not to be named, told our reporter: “We can’t wait to get out of here. Every time we complain we are ignored.” Getting emotional they added: “It’s a slum. My flat in there has flooded over 50 times. I want out of the area.”
The central belts appears to be riddled with issues. With North Lanarkshire, making the top three of the grim chart followed by Fife, Dundee and East Dunbartonshire.
A host of issues including reductions in bin collection frequency, cuts to cleansing teams, the COVID pandemic lockdown, poor quality housing and deep social issues have all been blamed for a rise in the pests.
The team had Glasgow Live say they have received almost-weekly videos from residents detailing how rats have invaded tenements, public parks and are popping up on residential streets.
According to the data, there were 3,116 reports of rodents affecting social housing in Glasgow up 116 per cent from 1142 in 2019. While nearly every area has seen massive increases, Edinburgh has seen a 26 per cent hike to 2803 from 2224 reports during the period while North Lanarkshire has seen a 76 per cent rise from 2242 to 3954.
While it can be said that many share Glasgow’s rodent problem, the same cannot be said about bedbugs and cockroaches with the city being the top destination in the country. Social Housing residents reported 241 cases of bedbugs with the councils own data showing a further 241 – an increase of more than three fold on 2019 – and more than double those in the capital
Similarly, cockroaches were reported 240 times with a further 186 coming from council data. Shockingly while the rise represents a near doubling since 2019 is still a massive drop from from over 900 reports in 2021.
Edinburgh was the only area to come close with a 144 per cent increase from 38 to 93 in 2023.
Earlier this month we spoke to mum-of-four Sharon Smith who had been left in tears after being moved out of her mouldy flat into a “freezing” hotel room with “bed bugs” just weeks before Christmas.
The 42-year-old and her children aged four, 12 and 14 were moved by Wheatley Homes Glasgow (WHG) so that work could be carried out at her Castlemilk home, which is riddled with damp and black mould.
She said: “I woke up the other day and saw a bed bug running across the bed. All they have done is move me across the hallway. My wee girl was hysterical the night we found the bed bugs, she is very upset.”
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