Pest experts warn homeowners that “cat-sized” swimming rats are sneaking into toilets to invade people’s homes.
Pest control experts say they can tread water for “up to three days” and warn people to protect their homes so they can’t get in.
Yorkshire Live reports that pest control expert Ian Helands warned: “I have received more calls than ever from owners who have heard a noise, looking into the toilet just to find a giant rat.
“No one is safe. Rats are excellent swimmers with flexible bones and can squeeze into smaller spaces.
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“They can hold their breath for three minutes and tread water for three days, and they are reaching the waste pipes.
“They are cunning and increasingly daring. Basically, if they want to come into your house, they will. “
The explosion in the number of rats in the UK is causing chaos. They are said to be 150 million, most of them in history.
Helands continued: “This has increased by 25% each year during the Covid pandemic.
“People are afraid and they should be. There are more rats than ever and they are taking over. I’ve seen some of them the size of cats. “
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He said the increase in the number of people working from home means that rats do not have as much food to eat in city centers, so instead of reaching homes.
Mr Helands, who runs Sussex ‘s pest control business, Pests Be Gone, continued: “There are ways to protect your home from pests.
“You can get doors for water pipes, they used to be used in very rural areas, such as near canals, but now we recommend them even in built – up areas.
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