A professional rat catcher has shared some real-life stories including the time he responded to a call from a woman who found a rat in her toilet while she was on the loo.
Kieran Sampler, 30, is estimated to have killed 65,000 of the animals and he has seen rats hiding underneath beds and in furniture.
One phone call came from a woman who said she was on the toilet when she discovered a rat had climbed up her drains and was hiding in the bottom of her loo.
Shocking footage from this incident shows the rat - which had since drowned upside-down in the water - stuck at the bottom of the toilet.
Kieran Sampler founded his own business called Vermicure Pest Control which covers South and West Yorkshire (Image: SWNS)Kieran said: "The rat has gone up another line of the drain and has come up into the toilet - while a woman was on the toilet.
"So we had to get it out, it was pretty bad - I've never had it where it's come up the toilet.
"She was screaming - imagine being on the toilet and something brushes against you.
"I had a client that had a rat that was living in the wooden slats of a bed - it's crazy what I've seen.
"I had one where a cat brought the rat in during the night, so the family trapped it inside the bedroom.
"I brought my dog in, he identified it straight away but the rat ran into the drawers of the bedside table."
How to get rid of these common garden pests
Back in 2018, Kieran set up a Facebook page called Yorkshire Rat Pack where he shares jobs and supports other rat catchers.
The dad-of-one then founded his own business called Vermicure Pest Control which covers South and West Yorkshire.
Kieran avoids using traps which would keep the rodents in a cage because he says this traumatises them.
The professional rat catcher of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has instead trained his two Lakeland Terriers Poppy and Penny to locate and kill the rats in a “more humane” way.
He said: "They kill the rats in seconds.
"It's more humane than using poison in my opinion, which is why it's never been made illegal.
"It also works quicker than poison - in a good way."
Native wild animals in the UK
He helps around 10 customers a day and says there has been an increase in people finding rats over the last few months.
Top 5 weirdest places Kieran has found rats
- Wellington boots
- At the back of hot tubs
- The bottom of people’s wardrobes
- The back of tumble dryers
- In a client's dog bed
How to ‘rat-proof’ your garden ahead of winter
Kieran recommends that people cut back their garden foliage, 'rat-proof' their decking and pick up their dog poo regularly to prevent them from going on their property.
He added: "This winter is going to be bad, I'm already getting farmers ringing me up two months in advance.
"Winter time is a vital time for rats - they love foliage so if you've got heavy foliage in your garden, then I would recommended cutting it back.
"I would try and reduce bird feeders, you can't force people to get rid of them because everyone likes them, but I would try and rat-proof them as best you can.
Recommended reading:
- It's rodent season - experts share 6 steps to keep rats away from UK homes
- Have you found rats in your house or garden? What to do if you see rodents
- How dangerous are rats for humans and pets and how do they spread diseases?
"Decking is a nightmare because rats love decking - try and proof it up because they will go under it.
"A lot of people don't pick up their dog poo up straight away, but that attracts them.
"If they go inside the property, then it's more than likely a problem with your drains.
"When they go into the drains, they eat the human waste and human faeces."
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