Glasgow named worst city in Scotland for rat infestations
Cases of pest problems have shot up 31% in one year
Glasgow has been named the worst city in Scotland, and fifth worst in the UK, for rodent infestations.
Cases have shot up from 7,894 in 2021 to 10,323 in 2022 - an increase of 31% in one year.
READ MORE: Councils dealing with 621 rodent infestations every day
Glasgow-based firm Pest Solutions explains that the city has a few key issues which may explain the figures.
Managing Director Chris Cagienard said rat infestations have surged since the pandemic: "During lockdown, behaviours changed and so we saw a significant increase in rodent activity in homes.
"That's because food from commercial businesses wasn't being produced anymore so the rats had to seek a different food source.
"But one of the main things is that you don't have to travel far around Glasgow and the west of Scotland to see terrible littering problems.
"When that's happening, it's really hard to not see rodent populations increase, it's almost an epidemic.
"We have to take responsibility for that. It's easy to blame bin collections or the Council but if we aren't putting rubbish in the bins on the streets, we need to look at ourselves as well."
'Risk to public health'
Chris explains that the rise in rat populations is concerning: "If these things are allowed to spiral out of control, the risk to public health is massive.
"Your business can get shut down, you can have a court order put on your home to force you to control these problems.
"You can also get diseases, contamination of products, and damage to homes through wiring and pipes being chewed."
Chris hopes the current economic situation won't force households into dealing with infestations themselves in inhumane ways: "I have my concerns because, especially with the cost of living crisis, people are going to look for a cheap solutions.
"They're potentially going to look at DIY methods, and apart from often being inhumane, you also have to be very lucky to actually control an infestation with those methods."
'We see rats every single day'
Chris Mitchell from GMB Scotland represents refuse collectors across the city and says rats are everywhere.
He said: "Last week, there was an incident on Great Western Road where the guys were emptying the bin on the street.
"A rat came out the bin and ran across the street into someone's shop, meaning the guy had to go over the the store where they sold food to tell them there was a rat there.
"You used to come across maybe two or three times a week but now it's every single day.
"We've had situations up in the Possil area where guys are emptying the bins and running into popular food chains.
"Some of the diseases can actually kill you if it's not caught in time so we need to make sure we have the proper PPE on.
"You can have them on your feet, running across your feet, neck or back going into some of these bin sits.
"It doesn't matter where the bins are situated across Glasgow now, there are always going to be rats."
The UK is facing a 'ratflation'
There are now an estimated 150 million rats in the UK and some 'super rats', which can grow as big as a cat, have become resistant to pest control efforts.
Rodents can cause damage to homes by gnawing at walls and floorboards, while some pests pose a health risk by carrying diseases like Salmonella and Listeria.
Cities across the UK dealt with over 226,000 rodent infestations last year - or 621 every day.
Local councils across Britain are thought to have spent a total of £36 million on pest control last year.