Rats on the march

12:22pm Friday 2nd November 2007

Comments (2)   Have your say »

Rats are on the rise with milder winters causing an explosion in the vermin population.

Figures from across Sussex show big increases in the amount of calls pest controllers are getting about rats, in some areas up by almost 50 per cent in less than a year.

But environmental health officers said the breeding boom was part of a national infestation, with the rat population doubling in some towns and villages over the last 20 years.

Crawley Borough Council has received 730 calls so far this year about rats, compared with 535 in 2006.

A number of the vermin have been spotted in the town centre as well as in family gardens and drains.

Karl Bock, environmental health officer in Crawley, said: "One of the main reasons is the mild winter we're having.

"Particularly cold, icy weather kills off the rats but after mild winters there's already quite a large population, so the following spring the population explodes.

"There's been a huge increase nationwide of around 40 per cent over the last six or seven years."

In Lewes call-out figures have already tipped 1,000 this year, doubling the amount recorded in 1978/79.

Figures are also up on last year in Hastings, Adur, Arun, Mid Sussex and Horsham.

As well as the weather, poorly kept bins, bread left out for birds, and litter outside take-aways have all been blamed for aiding the rat explosion.

A wide range of diseases and parasites potentially harmful to humans can be spread by the rodents.

They burrow into compost heaps, under sheds and decking, wall cavities or under floorboards and can even gnaw through cables - leading to electrocution or fire.

Mr Bock added: "Rats have always been associated with mankind since biblical times and they feed off the food man eats.

"We always advise people to put waste out in tightly sealed bins and not plastic bags as they'll just gnaw through them, and we try to make sure restaurants have the right arrangements for refuse storage and disposal.

"But there are other sources - sewers are typical homes for rats and if there are breaks in the pipes the rats will crawl out."

Janet Treagus, spokeswoman for Crawley Borough Council, said: "The worrying thing is that they spread disease. We don't want them in our town centres. We don't want them in our houses.

"But it's a dreadfull problem nationally and our environmental health officers tell me there's more because of the milder weather."

Rat Stats 2006 2007 Crawley 535 calls 730 calls Mid Sussex A rise of 25 per cent (no figs available) Hastings 870 calls 963 calls Horsham 992 calls 1,090 calls Adur 246 sites visited 265 sites visited Arun 998 calls 1,002 calls Eastbourne 468 treatments 438 treatments Lewes 1,121 calls 1,083 calls (424 in 78/79) Brighton and Hove 702 treatments in first six months, compared to 666 this year Worthing 432 calls 400 calls