Ang Mo Kio resident uses roast duck as bait, catches 50 rodents in a month

When a rodent problem broke out at a nearby market and hawker centre, one man in Ang Mo Kio decided to take matters into his own hands.

Liu, a resident in the estate, managed to catch dozens of rodents within a month by using roast duck as bait, Shin Min Daily News reported on Tuesday (Oct 24).

The 56-year-old said in the past year, he would notice piles of rubbish at Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 while making his way to open his stall at the market and hawker centre.

He also saw rodents scurrying among the cardboard boxes.

Describing what he saw as "unhygienic", Liu said: "I believe that the rubbish was discarded by the nearby stores.

"They didn't even open the rubbish chute to throw the items and just left them lying around outside.

"There's always a mountain of cardboard boxes every night. The cleaners usually clean them up at 7am, but the rubbish will accumulate there again at night."

Liu revealed that a year ago, he asked a roast duck hawker friend for some meat.

He then placed them in rat cages, and looked for burrows to lure out the rodents.

"In just a month, I caught at least 50 rodents. The situation improved after that, and I've caught fewer of them since," Liu said.

'Rubbish mountain' caused fire

The rodent problem is not the only headache Liu had encountered while dealing with the "rubbish mountain".

A fire broke out in front of the garbage chute on Sept 3, and the hawker was injured while trying to put out the flames.

"The cleaner suddenly ran to us and said that there was a fire," Liu recalled. "I dropped what I was doing and hurried over to check it out."

Out of desperation to put out the fire, Liu said that he and his friends smashed the glass casing containing the fire extinguisher with their bare hands.

"Fortunately, the accident wasn't that serious," he added.

Responding to Shin Min' queries, Ang Mo Kio Town Council said that they might take action to identify the individuals who dispose of their rubbish improperly.

On rubbish disposal, a spokesperson for the town council said that the cleaners usually work until 9pm and will remove the rubbish accumulated over the night in the next morning.

If the situation does not improve, Ang Mo Kio Town Council added that they will install CCTV cameras to monitor the area.

ALSO READ: Ang Mo Kio market's war on rodents sees authorities step up efforts in 6-hour operation

chingshijie@asiaone.com