East Anglia pest controller speaks out as councils deal with 621 rodent infestations every day
We've spoken to a Norfolk pest controller to find out why we're experiencing 'ratflation'
Last updated 17th May 2023
There's been a big increase in the number of residential rodent infestations in the UK.
New research shows that last year, local authorities dealt with 226,831 rodent infestations – that's the equivalent of 621 per day.
It's a 12% increase in rodent infestations from two years ago in 2020 when councils dealt with 203,227 infestations (550 per day).
Councils having to spend £36 million
The research from 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.
Almost one in five (19%) local authorities provide these pest control services for free, but households that don’t qualify for discounts, typically get charged £80.
Why is this happening?
Andrew Dellbridge, who owns ACE pest control, in Norwich, explained why the figure is so high: "If you don't know what you're doing, you're feeding rats, rather than culling them.
"There's a lot of resistance to certain baits and rats are clever, so they adapt.
"Add all those things into the mix, and it's very pro-rat...
"In the drains rats are doing well now too. I think that's a budgetry issue for local councils, who cant afford to do all the drains.
"We're also more environmentally friendly in our gardens, we're feeding the birds more, lots of us have pets. All these things add up to food and refuge for rats."
Which areas were the worst hit by rats?
Last year, the City & County of Swansea dealt with the most residential rodent infestations, a total of 16,767.
Southwark Council and Birmingham were the second and third busiest councils, dealing with 16,665 and 12,736 infestations respectively.
Eastbourne Council saw the highest increase in rodent infestations in 2022 with 598, up from 208 in 2021 (a massive 188% increase).
The top 10 Local Authorities dealing with the most rodent infestations in 2022:
- City & County of Swansea - 16767 infestations
- Southwark Council - 16,664
- Birmingham City Council - 12,736
- Liverpool City Council - 10,373
- City of Glasgow - 10,323
- Sunderland City Council - 5,968
- Wigan Metropolitan Borough - 4,715
- North Lanarkshire Council - 4,462
- London Borough of Lambeth - 3,645
- Nottingham City Council - 3,573