Large rats “the size of cats” have reportedly been invading homes in England by climbing up through toilets.
ACE Pest Control boss Andrew Dellbridge told Norwich Evening News that rats are getting “bigger and braver” since lockdown.
“I was called out to one job in Norwich and the customer could barely speak, she was in so much shock,” he said.
“She’d been using the bathroom and heard a noise. She saw it in the toilet bowl when she looked down. This is becoming more frequent.”
He also heard from a couple who were driven out of their home by the rodents.
These brave animals are only getting bolder. After having the freedom to go places they wouldn’t have attempted to go before as humans stayed home during lockdown, they’re getting much less shy about letting themselves into people’s homes, businesses, and bathrooms.
During lockdown, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) reported a 51 per cent increase in ‘rat activity’.
Although you might think getting a cat would help, Dellbridge said: “A sensible cat doesn’t like a big rat and I’m seeing cats having a huge problem with fleas at the moment. So you would still have rats, and fleas.”
Horrifyingly, rats making their way up through our toilets isn’t just an urban legend — it’s actually quite easy for them.
Cities have had some novel solutions when it comes to banishing the long-tailed home intruders.
After an elderly man was bitten on the bum by a rat that came up his toilet in Ireland, Cork County Council considered spiking the sewer system with rat poison.
In Chicago, a charity tried to solve their rat problem by releasing 1,000 feral cats onto the street.
Maybe an army of wild kitties and rodent-guzzling herons is just what we need to tackle our rat problem.
Between rats interrupting people’s morning constitutionals to workers being too paranoid to poo at work, it seems we’ll just have to pick our struggle.