Evidence of the rodents’ presence is regularly found in gardens, houses, cars and gnawed bins
06:30, 03 May 2026Updated 07:36, 03 May 2026
Ria Rembadi has noticed holes in many bins(Image: Ria Rembadi)
People living in Page Moss can’t decide if the rats plaguing their streets are eating their way into their wheelie bins or out of them as a way to escape being trapped. What doesn’t seem to be up for debate is how sharp the rats’ teeth must be.
John Carine, a resident of Page Moss in Huyton who has been campaigning on the issue for the past eight years, told the LDRS that the rat problem “is an ongoing issue” which he thinks has been “caused by the council through a lack of sewer baiting, building on all the available land and not baiting up the surrounding areas”.
He said: “They do put an emphasis on the builders that they have to bait their own areas what they’re building on, but there’s never anything about the surrounding areas which is obviously where the rodents are going to go.”
Mr Carine said that the Knowsley Council has now started to bait the sewers, but that “practically every bin in the street, including the recycling bins, they’ve all got rat holes chewed through them”.
Mr Carine said that some people “just like to blame residents”. He added: “‘Oh, it’s people leaving the bins out, people leaving the lids open’,” allowing “rats to get in and then chew their way out, which is false.”
He said that there are bins with lockable lids that still have holes in them, which supports the argument that rats are chewing through from the outside and not from the inside.
Holes chewed through the bins in Page Moss. (Image: John Carine)
Ria Rembadi, who lives locally and is a Green Party candidate for Page Moss in the local elections in May, told the LDRS that she has heard the theory of rats eating their way out of the bins before as an argument that “we didn’t need to worry about them getting in” as long as the lids were shut.
“They suggested that they get trapped in there but I don’t think that really happens or the bin men would be complaining.”
Ms Rembadi said that when she has been out leafleting as part of her election campaign “you obviously go past the wheelie bins, and you see these massive holes that have been chewed through by the rats, which is insane.
“I can’t believe an animal is able to create a hole that big.”
She also said that when she is speaking with residents “one of the most common things that comes up is always the rats,” and that people have pointed out rat droppings and cars whose wires have been chewed.
Various posts can be found on social media community groups in which neighbours in the area say that rats have burrowed into their cars and caused damage.
Ms Rembadi said. “Someone needs to do something about it. It needs to be addressed.”
Knowsley Council said it regularly provides help and advice to the local community to help keep rodent populations down and has baited 200 sewers in the last year.
Mr Carine said that he has no issue with the council’s recent introduction of small food waste caddies, which some residents have suggested on social media may be attracting rats, as “I think the issue is that the rodent issue hasn’t been resolved first.
“I actually think the bins are a good idea, because you’re not having food sitting in a general waste bin for two weeks, they’re getting emptied a lot quicker.”
Mr Carine said that he has had rats in his garden and house, adding: “I have decking in my back garden, but underneath the decking, it’s all flagged, so it’s not really a place where rats can nest.” He said the council have told him and his wife that they have to take the decking down.
Rat droppings outside a property in Page Moss.(Image: John Carine)
“So we’ve had to rip all the decking up. There’s no holes, there’s nowhere the rats have got in. As far as prevention goes, everyone is trying. I mean, I’ve got three or four rat traps in my garden. I’ve got bait boxes with poison. I’ve got two ferrets, which actually kill the rats, and even they don’t seem to deter them.”
Ms Rembadi said she has also had rats in her garden, which “freaks you out”. “People get rat holes in their garden around here as well, under the fences,” she said, adding that she often sees rats dead in the road as well.
“I always think someone should do something but it’s so horrible for someone to have to pick up a dead rat”.
Posts about rats in people’s gardens, houses, cars and having chewed through bins are published on local social media groups every few days, and a Change.org petition calling on Knowsley Council to take urgent action on the rat problem has now received almost 750 signatures.
A Knowsley Council spokesperson said “The council provides regular advice to help residents and businesses keep their homes and businesses pest free.
“In addition to what they can do – which includes storing and disposing of food and waste properly and ensuring gardens aren’t overgrown – the council also carries out regular activities including monthly multi-agency environmental action days which brings partners together to spend a day focussing on the most pressing issues in specific locations across the borough.
“The council also has a regular programme of litter picking, street cleansing, clearing fly tipping, and a programme of sewer baiting with United Utilities, with over 200 sewers baited in the last year. Further advice can be found here.”