A house which has been deserted for many years in a Sharjah neighbourhood has started to irk local residents as it has become the hotbed for a massive rodent invasion into the area, a newspaper said on Saturday.
One local woman said she was shocked when she saw a big rat hiding under the bed of her six-month-old son—a scene which she had never seen before.
“I was shocked and frightened when I saw that big rat under my baby’s bed….this is becoming a nightmare which has to be ended,” said Muna Issa, a resident of Shahba neighbourhood in Sharjah. “The house must be sprayed again and its trees should be cut down as it has become like a ghost house.”
In its report, the Abu Dhabi-based Alittihad newspaper said the house has been deserted for nearly 10 years and that it has become a haven for armies of rodents although it has been sprayed several times by the municipality.
It quoted residents as saying rodents disappear for a while after the house is sprayed but reappear again, adding that they are attracted by the house’s smell, the calm atmosphere inside and the surrounding trees.
“We live just behind that house and we see mice and rats almost daily inside our house…it is time that the municipality does something about it,” said Lubna Mohammed. “We have also seen workers jumping over the wall and climbing trees to go into that house and stay there for several hours.”
Alittihad quoted Ibrahim Al Housani, head of security at Sharjah municipality, as saying they would send teams to spray the house again and cut down the trees. He said the municipality would get court permission to enter the house.