Giant mutant super rats make their way to Liverpool

Mutant super rats which are immune to poison are making their home in Liverpool.

Pest controllers working in the city say some disease-carrying rodents are the size of small cats and are becoming resistant to the bait used to kill them.

Sean Whelan, of Whelan Pest Prevention, said: “All around Merseyside there’s been a problem.

“We’re seeing bigger rats in Liverpool. They’re super rats in my opinion.”

Rat-catchers say the rodents are gorging themselves on food left in bins near take-away, restaurants and houses.

Sean said: “Access to food is so easy for them.

“They’re like humans, they eat and eat and get bigger and bigger.”

Neil Trimnell, who runs Liverpool-based Pestforce, said: “They do seem to be getting bigger over the last 18 months.

“They’re eating more food and different types of food, particularly fast food waste.”

In the 1960s and 70s rat poison was based on blood-thinning drug warfarin.

Now rat-catchers use a rodent killer made from bromadiolone but Sean says neither of these are working on some rats.

Pest controllers are now looking at using stronger types of poison which would require the permission of the Health and Safety Executive.

Sean said: “They’re becoming very resistant to bait in Liverpool. Soon we’ll have to be putting third generation bait down which we will need to get legislation for.”

Whelan Pest Prevention has seen a 15% increase in rat-based call-outs in the last year. Sean said a hot spot for rats, which carry potentially fatal illnesses such as Weil’s disease, is Dock Road in Garston where the rodents congregate near sewers.

Meanwhile Neil has seen an increase in reports of rats in terrace houses in Wavertree and Kensington.

Both say they would normally have seen a drop in reports of rats at this time of year as the weather warms up but that there has been no let up in call-outs.

Liverpool council has seen a rise in the number of reports of rats it has received.

The authority had 2008 call-outs for rats in 2013, up on 1860 in 2012 and 1916 in 2011.

The council does not currently charge for domestic call-outs for rate or mice but says it plans to introduce fees in the future as part of its cost saving measures.

A spokesman for Liverpool council said the time-frame or price of these charges have yet to be decided and that those receiving benefits will not be charged.

One of the giant rats