I can’t walk into my home it’s so gross with mice everywhere & gaping holes in the walls – & the council can’t fix it
A WOMAN has been unable to return to her home after it has become overrun with mice - and the council can't fix it.
Nicole Caullay says her flat in Blantyre, Scotland, is "unliveable" thanks to the infestation who have made gaping holes in the walls.
The 20-year-old moved into the council property in November before realising the extent of its problems.
She said the mice scratch the walls at night, run amok in her living room and leave droppings all over her furniture - including in her BED.
Nicole has now been forced to flee the home after spending months battling to get rid of the pests, seeing her mental health spiral.
The frustrated tenant said she has "had suicidal thoughts" due to her living conditions that authorities have been unable to rectify.
Pest control services have been sent out "every single week since November" to lay traps and poison, but the vermin have continued to swarm her flat.
Nicole told Lanarkshire Live: "I sat down on my couch on Sunday and one mouse ran right over my foot and I just ran out. I went back to get some things and haven’t been back since."
"I’ve never moved in anywhere myself so I didn’t know what to look out for.
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"A couple of days after moving in I went into a cupboard and I saw a massive hole, then I looked in more and there were holes everywhere.
“The house was an absolute state. I did it up to the best I could and then I saw a dropping from mice."
She says she contacted environmental health regarding the rodent problem but the council have been unable to get rid of them.
Nicole continued: "The mice are now running all over my bed and my couch. There’s droppings all over my bed and couch.
"I don’t know what else to do with it anymore. I’ve got really bad depression and I don’t know what else I can do.
"I’ve had suicidal thoughts because of this house. I can’t even walk into it at the moment it’s that bad.
"I’m staying with my mum at the moment and she doesn’t want me going back there now."
The 20-year-old said her home is plagued by the smell of the mice's urine while her furniture has been wrecked by their constant droppings.
When I'm lying in bed I can hear the mice scratching on the wall, it’s horrible.
Nicole Caullay
"I spent a lot of money on the house," Nicole said.
"My dad bought me a brand new couch and now the droppings are all over it and I’m going to have to throw it out.
"When I’m lying in bed I can hear the mice scratching on the wall, it’s horrible. There’s holes all over the house, and now I don’t know what to do anymore."
Nicole has also been left panicking about leaving the poison laying around while her young family members visit.
"I’ve now got boxes lying about my house with poison in it and I have young sisters that come over and I’m scared in case they touch them.
"They say they can see that the mice have ate some of it but they don’t know where they’ve gone after," she said.
"I’ve got a baby cousin who is two and she walks about and grabs anything she can because she’s a toddler. I just don’t want anybody touching poison and end up in hospital with it."
Now Nicole has reached breaking point as her mental health has become exacerbated by the mice infestation, which has only "gotten worse."
'DISGUSTING'
"It’s an absolute nightmare," she said. "Sometimes when I just drive down the street, I don’t even want to go into the house.
"There’s a smell in the house as if it’s urine, I can’t get rid of it, it’s disgusting."
A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council explained they had repeatedly tried to eliminate the rodents and are planning to fill up the huge holes in the walls.
They said: "The council is aware of the issue with mice at Ms Caullay’s tenancy and appreciates the concern this is causing.
"Our specialist contractor has attended on five occasions to attempt to remedy the situation, most recently on January 6. The bait laid to deal with rodent infestations is placed in a secure, tamper-proof box.
"Follow-up work is also planned to fill any access holes, as soon as COVID restrictions allow, with the aim of preventing a recurrence.
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"A local housing officer is in regular contact with Ms Caullay to provide her with updates and support while the matter is resolved and to help her settle successfully into her new home.
"This includes helping her to complete an application to replace contaminated or damaged items and arranging for a deep clean of the property when all remedial work is complete."
