Home
Floods are flushing out resourceful rats
12/07/2012
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has issued guidance to homeowners on how to stop the “huge numbers” of rats that have been washed out of sewers by the recent floods from re-establishing themselves.
The CIEH has said that people must be particularly careful with how they dispose of food and should block up any potential access holes to stop the rats from entering their homes.
Pest controllers have reported that call outs in the flood hit areas of the UK have risen by a quarter in recent weeks, and daytime sightings of rats are becoming very frequent.
CIEH director, Julie Barratt, warned that rats are resourceful and resilient and are able to replenishing population figures very quickly.
“We know huge numbers have been washed out... where sewers have flooded, and there have been a lot of rat casualties,” she said. “When people are cleaning up, block up holes and don’t leave food lying around.”
Adam Hawley, from the National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA) added that the summer had been truly exceptional and rats usual nests were being obliterated.
“Rats are trying to find some sort of dwelling to live in – whether they then try to move into people's garages or sheds, or into people’s lofts to get away from the flood water,” he said. “The knock-on effect is, potentially, that people’s dwellings are getting rat infestations.”
