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11:22 BST, April 10, 2016A giant rat over two feet long has been captured by a pest controller in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. Rats are not only getting dramatically larger, they are also becoming more resistant to over-the-counter rat-poisons, say experts.
Jeff Sullivan, 58, who owns the firm SWAT Total Pest Control, found the animal at a client’s home. He said it was the biggest one he had ever come across in his eighteen years in the business.
Mr. Sullivan showing the giant rat he caught. With their higher-protein diet today, rats are not only getting larger, they are also becoming much stronger. (Image: facebook.com/Pestcontrollincolnshire)
The real thing – no trick photography
Some claims have appeared on the internet of people catching four-foot long rats. However, they were later found to be much smaller – the animals had been held at arms-length close to the camera – thus creating the illusion that they were much bigger than they really were.
Mr. Sullivan said:
“There is a lot of misrepresentation with guys taking photos of rats with mobile phones and holding it out at an extreme arms-length to create the illusion that it’s bigger than it really is. But this is the real deal, it’s the largest rat I’ve ever seen.”
Rats’ diets are changing. They are eating high-protein food and ‘bulking up’, Mr. Sullivan warned. He added that they are becoming much more difficult to kill, because of progressive poison resistance.
Mr. Sullivan added:
“I’m just glad I never had my jack Russell on this one, I think the rat might’ve won.”
This rat is was about the size of a medium-to-small dog, and considerably larger than a cat. (Image: facebook.com/Pestcontrollincolnshire)
Rats spread diseases
Rat infestations are a serious public health problem. The most common species – the black rat (Rattus rattus) and brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) – carry more than thirty-five dangerous diseases, including rat bite fever and leptospirosis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA:
“Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.”
As over-the-counter poisons are becoming less effective in dealing with rats, the only way today to solve the problem effectively is to call a fully-qualified pest controller.
Video – Huge Russian rat attacks cats
See how these cats in Russia fear the large rat, which was significantly smaller than the huge beast captured in Grimsby.
2 Comments
“the animals had been held at arms-length close to the camera – thus creating the illusion that they were much bigger than they really were.” Which is exactly what the dude in the photo is doing.
I saw rats that size near the docks in Algeciras in 1974. Really freaked me out at the time as I was travelling on a shoestring and had just spent the night sleeping rough just a few hundred yards away.
I had heard of ‘rats the size of cats’ but had thought it was an exaggeration. But they really were at least as big as a small cat.
Horrible things.