Mutant rats that are immune to conventional poisons are growing in numbers across the UK. Previously only recorded in Kent, Sussex and the West Country, these super rats are now spreading further afield.

Unbeknown to homeowners, the pests have become immune to rodenticides bought over the shop counters and have been witnessed to eat poison pellets like grain. It is only natural that the rats who exhibit resistance to toxins are taking the place of those that do not. However with a pair of rats capable of producing 800 pups over a 2 year period, the growth in mutant rats to which this phenomenon has led should be concerning to all.

Indeed, many homeowners are wasting considerable expense on rat poisons in the vain hope that these toxins will help them to bring about the demise of their infestation. Inadvertently, these efforts may in fact be fuelling the growth of rat colonies, while in the meantime working to build up further resistance to rodenticides in the rats of which these homeowners desperately wish to dispose.

The increased risk that mutant rats pose to public health is considerable. Moreover, with 70% of rats in some counties showing signs of resistance, action in dealing with their numbers has become an urgent priority for authorities.

When faced with an infestation in your property, you can help these efforts by endeavouring to use licensed exterminators such as London Rodent Control. Rats are still susceptible to a range of stronger toxins only available to professional technicians. By using a company which has license to deploy these toxins, you can do your bit in stemming the rise in mutant rats – while ridding your property of its own rat problem in the process!

Likewise, the use of stronger rodenticides to combat mutant rats will inevitably lead to increased risk to other wildlife that might unwittingly eat these stronger poisons. By hiring a professional service provider, you can rest assured that technicians will do their utmost to limit the exposure in non-target species. Homeowners and pest controllers have a long battle ahead with mutant rats, but by co-operating together they might just about beat the common enemy.