Danish Year of the Rat

Municipalities received reports of rodents in record numbers last year

Although the Chinese Zodiac may not agree, 2015 was apparently the year of the rat in Denmark. Two mild winters in a row have created optimum breeding conditions for the pests and several municipalities have received record numbers of reports of rats.

“There are many more rats this year,” Erik Erbs – the head of road and park maintenance in Sønderborg, a town in southern Jutland – told DR Nyheder.

Unpleasant record
Erbs said his department received 900 more reports of rats last year than in 2014, which had been the previous record year. In total, there were over 3,000 rat reports in Sønderborg last year.

“We have had to put extra staff on rat control since October just to keep up,” said Erbs. “We’ll continue with the extra staffing until March.”

Is the Pied piper available?
Esbjerg has also been plagued by an increasing number of rats in its sewers.

“The number of rats is quite high,” said Torben Bergmann, the environmental officer at Esbjerg Municipality. “We have used more resources on rat control.”

Pest control company Rentokil heard from 170,000 customers who found rats in their homes, making 2015 a record year.

TOP STORIES

  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs