Rodents using Galway hospital blankets as nesting material after droppings discovered
Rodents were found to be using blankets as nesting material when pest controllers were called to the Hospital following the discovery of droppings in a security office
Mice, ants and silverfish were among the creepy-crawlies discovered in Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe since 2024, according to inspection reports compiled by pest control specialists.
Rodents were found to be using blankets as nesting material when pest controllers were called following the discovery of droppings in a security office at the hospital in April 2025.
Mice were also found in the post room on another occasion, and pest controllers attended the hospital in response to signs of rodent activity in the ceiling of a doctor’s office.
A rodent sighting was reported in a room on St. Joseph’s ward at the hospital as recently as last month, according to records obtained by Galway Live under the Freedom of Information Act.
The records show that Portiuncula has repeatedly struggled with infestations of ants over the past three years in areas including consultants’ rooms, the maternity department, and the occupational health department.
Pest controllers dealt with these issues using insecticidal spray and gel, and repeatedly advised that a cobblestone area outside the hospital was the source of the problem and needed to be removed.
Silverfish – a destructive insect that likes to feed on books, clothing and food packaging – were found in the hospital on a number of occasions earlier this year.
In February, they were discovered in four of the hospital’s on-call doctors’ rooms. Pest controllers treated the area with insecticide and advised that gaps in floors and skirting boards needed to be sealed to remove “hiding areas” for the silverfish.
The insects were found in a bathroom in the paediatric department two months later. A spray treatment was carried out, and pest controllers told the hospital to seal holes and gaps around the toilet and sink to prevent a repeat of the problem.
Other issues dealt with by pest controllers included an infestation of ants in the file room of the new maternity outpatient department at Portiuncula last March, and in the occupational health department, “where ants are found every year”, according to an inspection report.
A rodent was spotted in a staff room in June 2025, and a number of ant nests were found by pest controllers who were responding to an infestation in a consultants’ suite the following month.
Last August, pest controllers tried to get to the bottom of a strange smell in a hospital kitchen during a site visit. They traced the stench to milk in a drip tray behind a fridge in the facility.