The Invasion of Poison-Resistant Super Rats: How the Pandemic Created a Growing Problem for Britain’s Pest Control Experts

A pest control expert has explained that Britain’s rat population is growing at an unprecedented rate because the pandemic has given the rodents the opportunity to feed on food waste in much greater quantities.

Britain is being invaded by poison-resistant super rats, which have grown in size due to the pandemic, says pest control expert Mark Mosely, who presented his findings on a popular UK TV show.

There are two key factors that explain the increase in the number of super rats.

Rat poisons are becoming less effective and food waste is increasing. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic caused rats to look for food in residential areas, where they remained due to the large amount of debris, the expert explained.

Figures from extermination company Rentokil show a 6.4% increase in the number of rats found in just one year, according to MailOnline, taken from Daily Star.

Mark Mosely believes that London’s rat problem could become as bad as New York’s: “the main factor is that they become resistant to the poisons that we apply”.

“It costs between £70-80 million and it takes a decade to create a new product (rodent poison, no). It’s not something that can be done in someone’s shed. There are also more people in the country, so this will lead to an increase in rats. There’s more waste, so more food for the rats. It’s a vicious circle,” the expert said

In addition, he believes, rats are, on average, getting bigger, and because our diet has become much fattier in recent years.

“That’s because the foods we eat – like crisps and microwaved meals on TV – are so fatty. The rats we trap are the size of small cats. I saw some of half a meter – that is, half a meter for the body and the same for the tail,” said the extermination specialist.