Rats tales

By Christina Okoli

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SCRAPS�of fast food, litter, floods, mild weather and decaying sewer systems once made the friendly streets of Britain a rat's paradise. Yet, as the winter months set-in and temperatures plummet, these disease-carrying vermin are packing up and moving into our homes.

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It's been 150 years since the country suffered a rat epidemic, but with reports of rodent infestations leaping by up to 85 per cent in some parts of the country, it seems that we may once again be on the verge of a rat attack.

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According to the latest reports, the rat population has increased by a whopping 10 million in the space of only two years. DIY shops around the country are fast selling-out of poison and rodent traps, as Britain's rat population tops 70 million, and�the mice population�is even greater.

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If those statistics don't send shivers down you spine, then maybe these will: no person in Britain, be they the Queen or the pest control man, is ever more than 20 yards away from a rat. And guess what They are getting closer.

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A new strain of so-called super-rats that have the ability to gnaw through walls, wood and even metal are now coming in and out of our homes as freely as we do.

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Super-rats are a stronger breed of the vermin that have developed a resistance to the new anticoagulant poisons, which were recently introduced after many rats became immune to warfin.

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The surging population of mice is also a growing problem for residents, as mice are more likely than rats to set up permanent residence in our homes. A recently discovered breed of super-mouse has also been found to have the ability to chew through fridge freezers and feed-off stores of frozen meat.

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Consequently, because one home will only ever have a limited amount of food for vermin, the infestation will easily move onto a neighbouring property, and the problem rapidly spreads.

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According to recent estimates, 1 in every hundred urban buildings is infested with rats, 50 per cent of farms and 60 per cent of sewers are also infested.

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Contrary to common belief, the rat outbreak is not restricted to cities. Rural districts, such as the northern Home Counties, including Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, have seen a 50 per cent increase in rat infestation reports.

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These occurrences may have worrying ramifications on the Nation's health. Health experts advise residents who find themselves rooming with rats to act quickly in order to avert a full-scale outbreak in the local area.

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The tell-tale signs of infestation include finding pillars of droppings inside or near the home, grease smears or puddles of urine.

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Several DIY outlets stock 'humane' mousetraps which allows pests to be captured in cylinders and kept alive so they can be disposed of in a field or grassland away from the residential area.