The coronavirus pandemic, that brought the country to a standstill in March, created a perfect opportunity for rats to breed. Lockdown created a perfect storm in which rats were able to thrive and breed, rapidly. Empty streets, vacant stores and careless waste habits have created the perfect environment for rats to breed. Two Yorkshire cities are in the top 10 worst rat-infested cities in the UK.
Pest control company, Pest.co.uk, has put together a nationwide list of cities with high rat infestations according to call-outs that they’ve received in October. And it seems two major cities in Yorkshire are having great problems with this furry fellas. Leeds, which is in third place, has received 266 call outs. And, the steel city Sheffield is in 7th and has received 155 call outs.
The city that topped the list was Birmingham with a massive 355 call outs. These kinds of numbers bring truth to the saying “They say you are only ever 6ft away from a rat”.
Jennie Rathbone, from Pest.co.uk, says that: “Rats can breed like mad, so we get localised infestations, where a breeding pair can create six litters of 6-12 pups a year, creating more breeding pairs and so on – hence why you need to get these problems under control fast”.
“Rats are loving life at the moment, they are being left to breed in vacant shops with abandoned bins – the technicians out on the road have seen nothing like this before”.
“It’s really important not to leave food scraps around, even compost bins have been known to attract rats in large numbers, a tidy and clean environment helps reduce these problems massively – however if you love rats, head to Birmingham!”.
The cities with the most rat infestation call-outs in October were:
- Birmingham – 353
- Newcastle – 305
- Leeds – 266
- Liverpool – 251
- City of London – 190
- Manchester – 187
- Sheffield – 155
- Cardiff – 139
- Bristol – 131
- Edinburgh – 120
Read More: Three Yorkshire Cities Named In Top 20 Dogging Spots In The UK
