Shocking report about rats in Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is the 2nd most rat infested place in the UK - Bridgend is top!
Swansea is sixth according to the British Pest Control Association.
They based the figures on the councils who had the most call-outs per population size during the period.
Dee Ward-Thompson, BPCA technical manager, said: "Our study provides the most comprehensive indication of the demand placed on local authorities for pest control.
"There may be a number of localised factors why certain areas seem to have high numbers of particular pests.
"Some authorities, for example, will have many urban areas within their boundaries while others will be largely rural. Some will have lots of food establishments, which tend to attract pests, and others could have less frequent bin collections.
"But it's important to recognise higher figures could simply illustrate that a local authority is working proactively to manage any issues."
The study shows staffing levels within UK local authority pest control teams have been slashed by almost 25 per cent since 2012 and that response rates have dropped 33 per cent during the same period.
Dee went on to say: "Local authorities are under immense pressure to produce savings and a number of public services are being cut as a result.
"Many councils who once provided pest control free of charge have either introduced charges or done away with the service altogether in a bid to balance the books.
"Our survey reveals many of those still providing pest control are responding to significantly fewer reports. It's largely down to a lack of resources and that's really quite alarming.
"It already seems to have had a significant impact on the pest population, according to our members, and the problem is only likely to get worse.
"We want to ensure this does not affect public health and that short-term budget cuts don't result in higher costs further down the line."
1. Bridgend: 2,849 call-outs, 20.47 per 1,000 people.
2. Neath & Port Talbot: 2,797 call-outs, 20.01 per 1,000 people
3. Sunderland: 5,304 call-outs, 19.28 per 1,000 people
4. Liverpool: 8,408 call-outs, 18.03 per 1,000 people
5. Caerphilly: 2,939 call-outs, 16.44 per 1,000 people
6. Swansea: 3,121 call-outs, 13.06 per 1,000 people
7. Pendle: 1,092 call-outs, 12.21 per 1,000 people
8. North Warwickshire: 690 call-outs, 11.13 per 1,000 people
9. Halton: 1,389 call-outs, 11.05 per 1,000 people
10.Birmingham: 11,822 call-outs, 10.89 per 1,000 people.
Source: The Wave website.
Additional information:
Rat Population: An estimate of about seven million rural rats. This would give a total estimate of 10.5 million rats in the UK. Given the human population is around 60 million, we actually outnumber rats by six to one.
How many descendants could a pair of rats produce in three years?
The answer: nearly half a billion. That shudder-worthy fact comes courtesy of pest control experts Rentokil, who put together an interactive projected labelled “The Rise of The Rats” to visually show just how crazy this cycle can be if left unchecked.
