"Traditional pest control methods are not particularly good for the environment, human health, or animal welfare," says researcher Heidi Sjursen Konestabo.

Together with her colleagues at the Department of Pest Control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), she has now published a report on measures to combat rats and mice.

"We have summarised the research and identified what actually works," she says.

For a long time, both researchers and pest control companies believed that rat poison was the best method. It is now clear that it does not solve the problem in the long run.

The Problem Simply Moves Next Door

"Even if you manage to eliminate the rats from your house or housing cooperative, you are essentially passing the problem on to your neighbours. And before long, the rats will return. As long as rats have access to food and places to hide, more of them will come," says Konestabo.