Rats allegedly as big as cats are invading people’s homes, making their way inside via sewage pipes and in through the toilet.
Experts have warned that the rodents are getting “bigger and braver” after lockdown, when they were forced to look for other food sources, like homes, because restaurants were closed.
As the problem spirals out-of-control, a Norwich pest controller has stated that he was forced to add staff.
Andrew Dellbridge, boss of Ace Pest Control, told the Norwich Evening News has warned people to keep an eye on their toilets.
He said: “They used to work around us but now they’re gaining access they wouldn’t have attempted before.
(Image: Ace Pest Control)
“They’re letting themselves into people’s houses and businesses.
“I was called out to one job in Norwich and the customer could barely speak, she was in so much shock.
“She’d been using the bathroom and heard a noise.
“It was in her toilet bowl, she saw. This is happening more often.”
The pest controller added that the period over winter is usually the industry’s busiest, but this year they have been flat out all summer.
Luke Pomfret of Pestfree Pest Control in Grimsby told Central Recorder in May that he has found rats measuring more than a foot long inside people’s homes.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
“Restaurants are closed, but rats haven’t gone away. They follow people,” he said.
Chris from We Care Pest Control Hull stated that he had found a massive dead rat under an OAP toilet.
The British Pest Control Association, which represents 700 rat catchers in the country in February, stated to CNN that it had received reports from its members of a 51% rise in rodent activity since the first lockdown. They also reported a 78% increase in rodent activity in November.
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