RATS are becoming "bigger, bolder, and more brazen", according to an experienced rodent-catcher and ex-Lance Bombardier.
Increased food waste and a more relaxed approach to pest control has emboldened the pests and seen them grow to lengths of 22 inches, he claims.
Pest controller Kieran Sampler, 29, a dad from Wakefield, West Yorkshire has caught 50,000 rodents throughout his career.
Most of the rats he catches these days are 18 inches in length, he said, although the largest he ever caught was 22 inches head to tail.
Kieran warned: "Rats are getting bigger, bolder and more brazen.
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"They’re less bothered about humans, cats, or anything."
Having studied the behaviour of rats for seven years, Kieran said he knows rats to be devious and clever creatures.
The rat-catcher believes they have grown emboldened since the pandemic, as pest control eased during lockdowns and there is now more food on the streets for them to feed off.
Kieran said: "Rats are used to detect mines in Cambodia, they’re very smart animals.
"Say you’ve got two Easter eggs, one is Cadbury’s and the other is Lindt. They’ll go for the Lindt.
"Honestly! You’d have to see it to believe it."
One in particular was so clever that he repeatedly went after the same car, using it to file down his teeth, despite it being moved hundreds of metres in between visits.
One of the biggest infestations the owner of Vermicure Pest Control saw was at a three-bedroom house in Batley.
The home was plagued by 22 of the rodents, many of which ran over his feet when he arrived.
At another property, rats had free rein of a woman's home after she removed her toilet and didn't cap the hole off.
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The animals scurried back and forth from the sewer into her home as they pleased.
Meanwhile, at a farm in Hull, where corn had been left to rot by the property's previous owners, Kieran came across "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of rats - maybe thousands".
After cleaning the area, he returned with his two dogs, terriers Poppy and Penny who are trained to catch the rodents, a couple of weeks later - and caught about 250 rats.
Kieran said: "When you become a pest controller, it’s completely different to hunting. You’ve got to respect the animals.
"With rats, they’re very intelligent things. There’s a big difference between killing stuff and controlling stuff."
