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Two-foot long giant rats immune to poisons are threatening to overrun Britain's cities

·         Apr 13, 2014 22:30

·         By Ben Rossington, Stephen White

A monster rodent was caught and photographed in Liverpool recently is almost two feet long from nose to tail – this giant rat could be the shape of things to come

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Huge pest: Giant rats want your leftover takeaway

It's almost two feet long from nose to tail – and this giant rat could be the terrifying shape of things to come for many British cities.

The monster rodent was caught and photographed in Liverpool recently .

Experts believe it is just part of a growing plague of mutant rodents who are gorging on discarded fast food and houshold waste.

But there is virtually nothing they can do to stop them – because the super rats have become immune to poisons.

Now many local authorities are lobbying the Government to allow them to bring in new, stronger chemical concoctions s to curb the invasion.

Merseyside pest controller Sean Whelan – who captured the latest huge specimen on an industrial estate – warns the problem is getting worse.

He said: “We’re definitely seeing bigger rats. Access to food is so easy for them.

"And, just like humans, the more they eat the bigger they get.”

Sean revealed his company has seen a 15% increase in rat-infestation call-outs in the last 12 months.

He added: “It is not unusual to see rats this large in rural areas, but it used to be preety rare in city type environments.

"There is definitely something going on. I think they might be evolving in some way because of their immunity to poison.

“We are seeing growth in hot spots all over the place – in Birmingham, London and the North West.

Spread: The UK Giant Rat Map

There is a hot spot between Winchester and Salisbury where all the army areas are. The poisons in those areas simply doesn’t work.

“Stoke-on-Trent also has a problem and in London the bait simply doesn’t work no matter how much you put down and how much they eat.

“It is getting to the point where we will have to go the EU and the Government to get a decision on stronger bait.”

Health chiefs say the rats are finding easy pickings near take-aways, restaurants and household bin areas.

They also believe Britain’s record wet winter has driven the creatures from the countryside to urban regions because their natural food supplies were hit.

The government’s austerity cuts – which has meant less money spent on pest control – and poor housing are also believed to be major factors.

In the 60s and 70s rat poison was based on the blood-thinning agent warfarin.

Now controllers use a rodent killer made from bromadiolone. But gradually both types of poison are ceasing to be effective on some rats.

Calls for stronger baits face opposition from wildlife campaigners, who fear the move could wreak havoc on other creaures, sentencing many birds and animals to an agonising death.

The rats carry illnesses which can be passed to humans, including Weil’s disease, which has flu-like symptoms initially but can lead to jaundice and kidney failure.

The disease killed Olympic rowing champion Andy Holmes in 2010.

Liverpool Echo

Monster: The giant rats caught in Liverpool

Liverpool council has seen a recent rise in the number of reports of rats – 2,008 last year compared with 1,860 in 2012.

Birmingham has the highest number of call-outs with 5,100 in the past year just ahead of Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend in South Wales.

Last week Birmingham reported an explosion in the rat population, with the worst districts identified as Ladywood, Hodge Hill and Perry Barr.

City pest control officer Colin Watts said: “One of the biggest I’ve seen must have been 14 or 15 inches long.

“That was just the body, without the tail. With its tail it would have been over 2ft. It was like a small cat.”

And the problem is not just confined to Britain. Other huge rodents have been caught recently at homes in Stockholm and Dublin.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has warned that Government cuts are risking “a national pest explosion”.

In a recent survey, the the National Pest Technicians Association found only 70% of local authorities provided an in-house rodent control service in 2010-11 – down from 80% two years earlier.

Steve Brindley, 59, of Evergreen Pest Control in Birmingham warned: “ The rats aren’t going to go away .

"They will just breed at a faster rate because they are not being controlled.”

Estimates of the rat population in Britain range from anything between 10.5 to 80 million.

But experts agree our changing climate is good news for rats, bringing them closer to humans and in larger numbers than ever.

Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, of the University of Leicester, warned rats could one day evolve to be the size of cow.

He said: “In evolution, things get bigger when they know size will serve them well.”

Alun Palmer meets a catcher

Caters

Fight: Pest controller Keith Fellows

The nightmare scenario of an epidemic of giant rats immune to normal poison has already arrived in Britain’s second city.

Keith Fellows of Evergreen Pest Control takes me to see for myself.

He says: “I have seen rats the size of a cat and if you take in the tail then they are about 24 inches long.

“This is down to the rats building up a tolerance to poison because people put down non-lethal doses.

"If you don’t double the dose every 10 days, they build up a resistance. So the rats grow into big daddy rats. “

Keith pulls up at local pond and beauty spot to prove his point.

He shows me a series of small holes close to the water’s edge and says: “This is a rat hole. They are under there waiting for it to get dark.”

Nearby, a man throws slices of bread to the ducks, and a woman tips crumbs on to the grass.

Irish Mirror

Big guy: A giant rat in Kingswood 

Keith says: “That is just perfect for rats. At night they will have that. Rats like to live next to food.”

Pointing at a cracked manhole cover, he says: “There will be loads there.”

The more time I spend with Keith, the greater my paranoia. I start sensing rats all over the place.

Keith says I am right to: “They are everywhere. Birmingham is a hot spot.

"Rats and mice get into houses through broken air-bricks and other holes and once inside, they nest in the loft or cavity walls.”

Keith, who has been doing the job for 21 years, tells some of his experiences in the war against rodents.

He says: “Rats can jump 6ft high from a standing start.

"I have had them jump at my head and you have to duck but the rat is more scared than you are.

“They are getting bolder. Sometimes they just walk up and look at you.”

As I hunt for more rat nests I tuck my trousers into my socks just in case.