Mobs of rats swarming UK town centres after growing fearless in lockdown

dailystar.co.uk:

rats are swarming town centres after becoming braver during the pandemic. The rodents were too scared to openly prowl high streets before Covid but they started venturing into new territories while they were deserted.Now the pests are roaming around confidently and the number of restaurants, cafes and bars suffering infestations has soared.Paul Blackhurst, of Rentokil pest control, said: “The periods of lockdowns and restrictions faced by hospitality venues over the past two years have led to a change in rodent behaviour.“The lack of footfall in certain areas of towns and cities saw these nocturnal and fearful creatures become more confident as they were not being disturbed by regular human activity and noise.“Now, with regular business activity gradually returning, and with potentially more people now eating out, food waste is naturally on the rise and this could increase the number of rodents and other pests looking for an easy meal.“For offices, restaurants, bars and cafes, it is time to take note and mitigate against the risk of reputational and financial damage that a rodent infestation can bring.”Rentokil saw an 82% increase in commercial enquiries from businesses besieged by rats and mice year-on-year from January 2021.An unseasonably warm January has also seen pest numbers rocket.Central London and the south east of England were the biggest rodent hotspots, suffering a 91.4% year-on-year rise.They were closely followed by the North West, North Wales and Midlands at 86.4%.Businesses should look out for the warning signs of an infestation.Mr Blackhurst added: “Nests, droppings, gnawing and rub marks in and around a premises - if any of these are spotted, then pest control experts should be called in to deal with.