PEST control experts in St Helens have recorded a seven per cent increase in the number of complaints about rats.

Although the rise in brown rat incidents is still well below the North West average (13 per cent) St Helens Council is urging people to take advantage of its free domestic rat and mouse service and asks people to report all incidents of rats and mouse sightings.

Currently the pest control service has maintained a 98 per cent success rate in undertaking such treatments within one working day.

Last year the council's pest control service received 1,815 rat complaints.

Among reasons for the increase include the rise in wild bird feeding which creates a ready and steady source of food for rats, particularly in inner-town areas and problems associated with the many Victorian sewers in the town that may be allowing rats to escape to the surface.

Other factors could include problems of people fly-tipping and dropping food litter and global warming affecting climate patterns, which in turn may be allowing breeding cycles to increase.

Distress

Apart from damaging buildings and causing considerable distress to householders, rats pose a serious public health risk as carriers of diseases such as Weil's Disease, salmonellosis, rat-bite fever and murine typhus.

Householders are advised in the event of discovering signs of rats on their property to remove any food the rats may have come into contact with and to clean and disinfect any work or food preparation surfaces.

They should contact the council's pest control service as soon as possible on 01744 456338, 456353 or 456366.

There is an out-of-hours answerphone on 456338.