Have you seen an increase of rat infestations?

Last year, local authorities dealt with 226,831 rodent infestations – the equivalent of 621 per day.

The problem is now so big, estimates suggest there are now 150 million rats in the UK and some ‘super rats’ have now become resistant to traditional pest control methods – some can grow to be as big as a cat!

New research out today shows there has been a significant rise in residential rodent infestations in the last two years, increasing 12% from 203,227 (550 per day) in 2020.

The research conducted by Direct Line Home Insurance also showed that each local authority spent an average of £101,044 dealing with residential rodent infestations in 2022, bringing the estimated yearly total to £36 million.

Aston spoke to Natalie Bungay, technical manager at British Pest Control Association and Ewan Robertson from Direct Line Home Insurance.

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash