November 19, 200817 yr Revealed: The Houses of Parliament really are infested with vermin By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 11:47 AM on 19th November 2008 Comments (20) Add to My Stories While it may not come as a shock to most, it has finally been confirmed the Houses of Parliament and government departments are being overrun with vermin. Last year £60,000 was spent eradicating infestations of rats, mice and even fleas at Westminster and government buildings. From January last year to February this year, there were 195 rodent sightings, of which 22 were found in the Commons. Outbreaks of fruit flies and one incident of carpet fleas also kept pest controllers busy. Full of vermin: The Houses of Parliament Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Independent show that a monthly graph is kept of mouse sightings in the buildings, including within the House of Commons and the House of Lords The Department of Health, which is responsible for drawing up policy to deal with public health issues presented by pests, also spent £2,383 last year on dealing with "sightings of mice, reports of fruit flies and an incident of carpet fleas". In a statement the parliamentary managers said: "The estate encounters some pigeon and gull activity which is controlled by the services of a falconer and also suffers occasional fruit fly activity, but these incidences are not recorded separately. Specific data is only recorded for mouse sightings as these account for the vast majority of pest issues." Dirty rat: There were 22 rodent sightings in the House of Commons Kevin Higgins, deputy chief executive of the British Pest Control Association told the Independent: "These are problems you will get today in almost any office in the UK. Rats will go anywhere they think they will find food and fruit flies can congregate around any spill of drink or food that is discarded in a difficult-to-reach place. "The only answer is scrupulous hygiene and the proofing of buildings. You need to seal up airbricks with mesh to stop rodents getting in. The age of the building doesn't really matter much – it's more a matter of how well it is maintained."
November 19, 200817 yr They should put a few boas and pythons in there, the rat problem would soon go away, a particularly large and hungry one at PMQs would be most welcome too:P
November 19, 200817 yr Author They should put a few boas and pythons Yes - Cleese, Palin and Idle would soon sort them out!!:rolleyes:
November 20, 200817 yr It's funny. Parliament is full of rats, and Congress is full of jackasses.:lol:
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