Rats are invading houses through toilets and letterboxes | Metro News
A pest control firm has warned that rats are ‘emboldened’ and ‘on the rise’ sneaking into people’s houses through their letterboxes and toilets.
Chiefs at Rentokil, the largest pest control company in the UK, said there has been a 22% increase in calls from people having issues with rats in the past month.
This six-year high was recorded after they quizzed 121 of their pest technicians and found that many of them said lockdown had made rats more confident.
Of the 121 technicians that were quizzed six in ten said that the rats they encountered did not turn and run away immediately with some even standing their ground and eyeballing them. (
)
The firm thinks rats have become ‘brave’ enough to look for food during the day despite being nocturnal animals because businesses have generated less waste and rats have had larger nest sizes.
A spokesperson for Rentokil said: ‘The increase in enquiries could be attributed in part to the mild winter experienced last year, which may have extended the rodent breeding season. ‘This could also mean that a larger population of rats will be heading indoors as the weather cools, to search for food, water and safe harbourage.’
A woman in Dover, Kent, said she was shocked when she went to the bathroom and found a rat sitting at the bottom of the bowl looking up at her. She said she thought she ‘was going to have a heart attack’ and called Dover District Council.
The UK has about 120million rats who are all looking for somewhere warmer during the winter to escape the cold and to breed, which usually ends up being people’s homes.
Data collected by the pest control company showed the most popular time for rats to sneak into a restaurant is 11.47pm, while they like to sneak into a supermarket at 12.10am and warehouses at 12.26am. The rodents mostly use loading bays to get into places as they account for 30% of all ‘break-ins’.
Head of Technical Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, Paul Blackhurst, said this week that rodent populations have increased so much since lockdown that their nests are over-spilling.
He said: ‘Rats are more often seen during the day if the population has been disturbed and forced to move on, and secondly if the population gets too large then the young males will be ejected from their clan. ‘Given the growing population, as well as the mild winter and decent summer, it is possible that more businesses will record increases in rodent activity over the coming winter months. ‘We advise businesses to take proactive measures to prevent pests from taking up residence in their facilities.’
A pest control firm has warned that rats are ‘emboldened’ and ‘on the rise’ sneaking into people’s houses through their letterboxes and toilets.
Chiefs at Rentokil, the largest pest control company in the UK, said there has been a 22% increase in calls from people having issues with rats in the past month.
This six-year high was recorded after they quizzed 121 of their pest technicians and found that many of them said lockdown had made rats more confident.
Of the 121 technicians that were quizzed six in ten said that the rats they encountered did not turn and run away immediately with some even standing their ground and eyeballing them. (
)The firm thinks rats have become ‘brave’ enough to look for food during the day despite being nocturnal animals because businesses have generated less waste and rats have had larger nest sizes.
A spokesperson for Rentokil said: ‘The increase in enquiries could be attributed in part to the mild winter experienced last year, which may have extended the rodent breeding season. ‘This could also mean that a larger population of rats will be heading indoors as the weather cools, to search for food, water and safe harbourage.’
A woman in Dover, Kent, said she was shocked when she went to the bathroom and found a rat sitting at the bottom of the bowl looking up at her. She said she thought she ‘was going to have a heart attack’ and called Dover District Council.
The UK has about 120million rats who are all looking for somewhere warmer during the winter to escape the cold and to breed, which usually ends up being people’s homes.
Data collected by the pest control company showed the most popular time for rats to sneak into a restaurant is 11.47pm, while they like to sneak into a supermarket at 12.10am and warehouses at 12.26am. The rodents mostly use loading bays to get into places as they account for 30% of all ‘break-ins’.
Head of Technical Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, Paul Blackhurst, said this week that rodent populations have increased so much since lockdown that their nests are over-spilling.
He said: ‘Rats are more often seen during the day if the population has been disturbed and forced to move on, and secondly if the population gets too large then the young males will be ejected from their clan. ‘Given the growing population, as well as the mild winter and decent summer, it is possible that more businesses will record increases in rodent activity over the coming winter months. ‘We advise businesses to take proactive measures to prevent pests from taking up residence in their facilities.’
Comment