A freedom of information act was requested from the beginning of 2017 (prior to Wirral Borough Council (WBC) stopping herbicide treatment on the beach), and different areas of the Wirral were ranked based on the number of call outs for WBC rat control service.
West Kirby was ranked top with 32 call outs, whereas Hoylake was ranked 22nd with 10. Neston and Parkgate are not part of WBC, but the closest area to Parkgate on the list, Gayton, had just five call outs (Liverpool Echo, 2018).
Confounding factors may include the size of gardens, being aware of pest control council services and being able to afford them. A study by Lambert et al (2017) identified the following risk factors for rats and mice reported on or near dwellings ‘including litter around the dwelling, pets and/or livestock in the garden, drainage faults, housing density, the urban-rural nature of the area and tenure type’. In addition, the data do not include private pest control companies, but does provide a comparison of Council treatment service requests across the area.
Rats are predominantly found in densely human populated areas where they can gain easy access to food (Frei, 2019 and Tamayo-uria et al, 2014). Older houses, more densely populated houses, and houses closer to vegetated areas, markets and cat feeding stations had higher risks of rat infestations (Tamayo-uria et al, 2014).
In addition to built up areas, rats can also be found along river beds, near areas of human agriculture, and other areas such as near trees (Traweger et al, 2006 and Modlinska and Pisula, 2020). However, when examining trapping success of rats within different soil types, rats were found less often in sand compared to other soil types and when running, standing, or no water sites were compared, fewer rats were trapped in standing water sites (Traweger et al, 2006). Rats can build extensive tunnel networks (Modlinska and Pisula, 2020), therefore making sand a less suitable environment to build tunnels in.
Factors which limit Rat movement include having to cross roads, waterways, and areas which are resource poor (Byers et al, 2019). Rats have recently been spotted on New Brighton beach, demonstrating that they can be found in a beach environment, however this is thought to be related to litter on the beach (Liverpool Echo, 2021). Rats are omnivores and will eat a variety of food including nuts, wheat, meat, cheese, chocolate and are often attracted to human rubbish, compost and bird feeding areas (Jackson, 2016; Barnett, 1956; BPCA, 2021 and Modlinska and Pisula, 2020). Milk chocolate, walnuts, Nutella and cheese have been identified as some of the most successful foods to attract rats into traps (Jackson, 2016).
Rats can be reservoirs of zoonotic diseases (diseases which can pass from animals to humans), and can also cause damage to houses, such as biting through electrical cables and insulation (BPCA, 2021). Therefore the risks of attracting rats into the home need to be considered.
In conclusion, rats can pose a problem to homes, although measures can be taken to reduce the risk of attracting rats, such as using compost containers which can’t be accessed by rats, keeping rubbish in containers, and making sure any bird feed is not accessible from the ground. There are limited data on the prevalence of rats found on beaches, although when they have been recorded in these environments, they usually coincide with the presence of litter, and rats are less inclined to cross roads than other animals. What’s more, rats often live in extensive tunnel systems, which makes a sand/beach environment less preferable for a living space. This suggests that human homes are still the most preferred environment for rats compared to a beach environment, especially one which is separated from homes by a road.
It is unknown how rats may interact with the beach environment in the future, so this needs to be continually monitored, especially if litter increases. There is also a lack of current data on the current numbers of rats in Hoylake and on the beach, so further research is needed.
References
Liverpool Echo (2018) Wirral’s rat capitals ranked – and the result is a big surprise. Accessed 12th August 2021, available at https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/wirrals-rat-capitals-ranked-result-15045663
Lambert, M., Vial, F., Pietravalle, S. and Cowan, D., (2017). Results of a 15-year systematic survey of commensal rodents in English dwellings. Scientific reports, 7(1), pp.1-12. Available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15723-9
Lukas Frei (2019) Rat City: Visualizing New York City’s Rat Problem. Accessed 12th August 2021. Available at https://towardsdatascience.com/rat-city-visualizing-new-york-citys-rat-problem-f7aabd6900b2
Tamayo-Uria, I., Mateu, J., Escobar, F. and Mughini-Gras, L., (2014). Risk factors and spatial distribution of urban rat infestations. Journal of Pest Science, 87(1), pp.107-115. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260528748_Risk_factors_and_spatial_distribution_of_urban_rat_infestations
Traweger, D., Travnitzky, R., Moser, C., Walzer, C. and Bernatzky, G., (2006). Habitat preferences and distribution of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Berk.) in the city of Salzburg (Austria): implications for an urban rat management. Journal of Pest Science, 79(3), pp.113-125. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225479841_Habitat_preferences_and_distribution_of_the_brown_rat_Rattus_norvegicus_Berk_in_the_city_of_Salzburg_Austria_Implications_for_an_urban_rat_management
Modlinska, K. and Pisula, W., 2020. The natural history of model organisms: The Norway rat, from an obnoxious pest to a laboratory pet. Elife, 9, p.e50651. Available at https://elifesciences.org/articles/50651
Byers, K.A., Lee, M.J., Patrick, D.M. and Himsworth, C.G., (2019). Rats about town: a systematic review of rat movement in urban ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, p.13. Available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00013/full
Liverpool Echo (2021) ‘Boy terrified to go back to beach where rats ‘were coming onto the sand’. Accessed 14th August 2021, available at https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/boy-terrified-go-back-beach-21307337
Jackson, M., Hartley, S. and Linklater, W., 2016. Better food-based baits and lures for invasive rats Rattus spp. and the brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula: a bioassay on wild, free-ranging animals. Journal of Pest Science, 89(2), pp.479-488. Available at http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&gathStatTab=true&ct=display&fn=search&doc=ETOCRN377600834&indx=1&recIds=ETOCRN377600834
Barnett, S.A., 1956. Behaviour components in the feeding of wild and laboratory rats. Behaviour, 9(1), pp.24-43. Available at https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/9/1/article-p24_2.xml
British Pest Control Association (BPCA) (2021) ‘Pest advice for controlling Brown Rats’. Accessed 15th August 2021. Available at https://bpca.org.uk/a-z-of-pest-advice/brown-rat-control-how-to-get-rid-of-brown-rats-bpca-a-z-of-pests/189176
