A giant rat invasion is underway as oversized vermin are driven into people’s homes by cold weather and flooding.
Britons have been warned to keep an eye out for the rodents after an infestation caused in part by delayed bin collections.
The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) said it has seen a 115 per cent increase in people seeking advice on controlling rats over the last 90 days.
It is estimated that there could be around 250 million rats in the UK – and cold conditions are pushing millions of them indoors.
Natalie Bungay, BPCA technical manager, said: ‘It’s common to see an increase in rat infestations during the winter period, as rats and mice are on the hunt for warm, dry shelter with access to a food source.
Gas worker James Green with a rat found near Hackney Downs, east London (File Photo)
A giant rat held by a residents in Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland (File Photo)
‘Disruption to bin collections over the festive period can also be a factor, as overflowing wheelie bins and black bags full of rubbish are basically a buffet for pests.’
Less frequent refuse collections can see foxes tearing overflowing bins apart and spilling the contents, which encourages rats to come from the sewers to feed on the waste.
Flooding in the UK has driven the rats from their underground nests and into buildings as they search for shelter.
London-based pest controller Paul Bates, of Cleankill, told The Mirror that since the pandemic, his rat infestation call-outs have been steadily increasing.
He said: ‘2022 was 6% up on 2021 and last year was 3% up on that. Since December I have 235 calls for rats, which is a lot compared to normal. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the problem has been getting worse.
‘There’s a few reasons for this in my opinion, from the reductions in waste collection and poor drainage and sewer maintenance to urban foxes learning to flip open food waste bins and leaving vegetables all over the pavement which is essentially creating a restaurant for rats.
‘Many local councils have also started re-wilding grass verges, but this creates habitats for them. Recently I was driving round a roundabout and saw several rats running through the grass.
‘Rats are a major problem as they pose a big health hazard and they breed rapidly, so they need to be dealt with by a professional as soon as they are suspected.’
The bins at Whitworth Road cemetery, Swindon, were left overflowing on Christmas Day
Households across Britain are being plagued by rodents amid a perfect storm of bin collection delays, flooding and cuts to funding
Pest controller Terry Walker (pictured), who caught a giant 19-inch long mutant rat
Over Christmas, frustrated locals in Swindon posted videos and images on social media of their overflowing bins and expressed their worries that the rubbish would attract vermin.
Some claimed they saw foxes, cats and rats picking through the waste and tearing bin bags open on their ring doorbells.
Swindon Borough Council apologised for the delays to bin collections, citing the amount of cardboard being recycled over Christmas and the loss of ‘two working days’ as the reason.
Pest expert Mark Moseley, who was also a candidate on last year’s The Apprentice, said he had been inundated with calls from people returning from their Christmas breaks, only to discover rats have invaded their homes.
He said: ‘People have come home, they’ve found that their Christmas chocolates hanging off the tree have been eaten. Rats have been in their properties; people have been away and have come back to find things not as they left them.’
Lockdown also forced more rats to hunt for food in residential areas, where they have been encouraged to stay because of plentiful food waste and access to bird feeders in gardens.
Female rats often leave sewers to protect their young, Mr Moseley added, because adult male rats see them as a threat to their territory.
‘While the rat population has had a chance now to grow again in our major cities, rats have actually stayed there (in residential areas) as well. Rat populations are building up in areas where they weren’t before the pandemic,’ Mr Moseley said.
Dorset-based pest controller Terry Walker was recently pictured holding a giant 19-inch long mutant rat that he had found.
Bin collections are already under threat as some councils look to cut costs, as the Local Government Association has estimated that councils in England could face a £4 billion funding gap over the next two years.
Heavy downpours and flooding caused by Storm Henk meant that some families were dealing with the nightmare of tunnel rats.
Mark Moseley, who pitched his pest control expertise to Lord Sugar on last year’s Apprentice, said people are returning from their Christmas breaks to find their house has been invaded by rats
Rodents were running into people’s homes because their passages and nests in fields, gardens and woods were flooded.
Mr Moseley, who is the founder of PestGone Environmental Ltd, has offered some handy tips to homeowners on how to keep the rats away.
He said: ‘If you’ve got squirrel or bird feeders in your garden you want to try and have a catch tray to catch the food from hitting the ground because rats find that food and they then stay in the local area.
‘It’s the same with fruit trees, plum trees, raspberry trees or bushes. Rats will stay close to those because they know fruit is good for their diets.
‘Do not put bins straight on the floor because foxes will rip through them and rats will then come in and feed from it. Get hardened bin containers and put them in the wheelie bins.
‘Any foliage in your gardens, try and trim them back as best as possible. It stops habitats from being created in the foliage in people’s gardens.’