Glasgow mum traumatised after being followed by rat in own home (2025)

Jemma says that the battle with the rats has left her unable to sleep or eat as she is forced to hoover up rat droppings - something that has left her feeling she has 'failed as a mum'.

A Scots mum-of-three has been left terrified after being followed by a rat in her own home.

Jemma McConnachie moved into the Maryhill Housing Association property on Bisland Drive in Glasgow last year, believing it would be a dream family home for her three autistic sons.

But, the 32-year-old says it has turned into a 'nightmare' just four months later after she was left 'screaming' when she went into the toilet only to discover a rat had followed her.

Her 16-year-old son was forced to chase the pest who disappeared under her cooker.

The mum, told Glasgow Live: "For about four months before I saw it I had been complaining that the cupboards stunk. I keep my house immaculate, so I knew there was something wrong.

"It wasn't until about four months in when I woke up and heard a noise that sounded like a wee dog jumping at a bin bag in the hall. I got up for the toilet and I turned around to see the rat.

"I screamed the house down. It was terrible. My oldest boy got up and chased it under the cooker. It ended up next to my washing machine and that's where the housing found it."

After a probe carried out by the Housing Association dozens of rat holes were discovered in the second-floor property.

She continued: "They moved us to a hotel and they just kept finding more and more holes. They had to strip the walls. Everyone is the building has them. The Housing Association knew about the rats because the previous tenants complained.

"They came to the door a few months after I moved in and showed me videos of when they pulled off the bath cover and it was covered in rat droppings underneath.

"I brushed it off at the time because the housing said it wasn't a problem. We're all in a mess here because they are in the walls and the housing don't want to close the holes on the outside because the rats will be trapped inside."

A spokesperson for Maryhill Housing Association said: “The Association is aware of the significant problem posed by rats in the Maryhill and Ruchill areas, as well as in other parts of the city.

"We have taken various measures to address the issue across our housing stock where possible, including baiting and working alongside pest control, to try and manage the problem.

"We have also communicated with tenants in affected areas to make them aware of how they can report sightings of vermin in their street to Glasgow City Council’s pest control team."

They continued: “The Association is also aware of this tenant’s situation and has acted immediately upon being notified of rats within her home. In early March, the tenant and her children were decanted to a hotel while work was undertaken on the property to rid it of infestation.

"The Association has been in regular contact with the tenant since then and is currently in the process of completing further repairs to her home which have been requested. The tenant has also actively engaged with our staff while these repairs are being carried out.”