ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S leading pest control services has reported a 40% increase in the number of calls it has received in dealing with rodent infestations this year.

Rentokil said calls to its services had been increasing since August – an unusually early start to the winter calling season, it said, with the colder weather seemingly arriving earlier than usual this year.

In addition to the decline in weather conditions, Rentokil believes Ireland’s rodent population has simply increased in number, having recovered from last year’s flooding which wiped out a significant proportion of it.

Limited food resources, waste management issues and cutbacks in basic hygiene may also be contributing to the bumper rat population this year.

Rentokil’s technical manager, Colm Moore, said it was important for people not to leave food or other spillages lying around, while it was also “a good idea not to stock pile waste packaging material for too long” as such material made “terrific nest material”.

“The potential for disease and contamination is a real problem, especially when you consider where rodents move and live”.