Rats in London

                                                Rats in London          

The topic of rats in London is one that yields many myths. At one time there was a common myth that nobody was ever more than six foot away from a rat. This has now come under some scrutiny and seems to be a bit hard to justify. However the fact remains that London still has a sizeable rat population and their presence is evident in quite a few places.

All over the city it is quite  common sight to see rat tarps and in many parks they are increasingly bold and can be seen scuttling about the undergrowth in broad daylight..

One of the features of London life is the amount of takeaway food places that now sit on London streets. There are the traditional fish and chip shops  and also chicken and chips shops as well as doer kebab places along with some of the American chains such as MacDonalds, Subway and Burger King. Most of these places boast a lot of discarded food as it is very common for people just to throw it on the pavements without regard to the wider implications. While this supports a larger population of scavenging animals with the foxes, crows and starlings particularly benefitting from this it is also clear that this habit is providing a food source for rats

Another problem is that there are large populations of rats in the sewers. In times of austerity when cuts are made often rat control programmes bear the brunt as they cannot be seen. Local politicians would rather make cuts there rather than places such as old age homes and schools which would obviously court some unpopularity. As a result rat populations often become very large with some overspill on to London streets.

The tabloid press is also full of lurid stories of giant rats that are invading our towns. Most of these stories should however be taken with more than a pinch of salt

One fact is undeniable. The population of London’s rats is very large and is expanding. Rats are animals that are adept at exploiting the opportunities provided by human activity and a city like London provides plenty of opportunities. The recession has helped as well as vacant buildings provide plenty of opportunities for them to roost. Rat control is probably the best than can be achieved as eradication would be unlikely. The rat is here to stay.