Giant Rats - On the rise again in the UK -

I remember a story similar to this surfacing maybe 5 years ago and have heard nothing since despite scouring search engines, local forums, newspapers etc for any additional info and then suddenly I logged on this morning and this popped up. I wondered if anyone had encountered any of these not so wee beasties and also if anyone could shed any further light on the type of numbers estimated or just more specific information on the overall topic.

Cheers

Dooleys

www.msn.com...

a reply to: dooleysleftleg

They are pretty big rats..... maybe they have been exposed to radiation......ever read "James Herbert's" three book series titled "the rats"....which is where i am getting the radiation exposure from...

en.wikipedia.org...

I work for a pest control company in the US and the same is happening here active ingredient in most rodenticides are WAEFIN which is the same thing given to people with high amounts if blood clots.

Anticoagulant Rodenticides

Anticoagulant rodenticides were first discovered in the 1940 s and have since become the most widely used toxicants for commensal rodent control. Rodents poisoned with anticoagulants die from internal bleeding, the result of loss of the blood s clotting ability and damage to the capillaries. Prior to death, the animal exhibits increasing weakness due to blood loss, though appetite and body weight are not specifically affected. Because anticoagulant baits are slow in action (several days following the ingestion of a lethal dose), the target animal is unable to associate its illness with the bait eaten. Therefore, bait shyness does not occur. This delayed action also has a safety advantage because it provides time to administer the antidote (vitamin K1) to save pets, livestock, and people who may have accidentally ingested the bait.

[snipped]

LINK

I meant to type Warfin sorry not waefin

link to above article

a reply to: ATF1886

Many thanks for the explanations and reasons contained within that reply. Interesting reading. Starred.

Would love to see any further photographs or footage of these super size creatures if anyone has links etc.

To the bottom is your Roof Rat , To the top is your Norway Rat.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Yes, I did read 'The Rats' trilogy and its always stayed with me such is the power of Mr Herberts words on a teenage boy. The large one eyed albino mother rat as a particular image ingrained in my mind which often surfaces when im walking down short cuts and deserted streets late at night. Radiation is certainly a possibility however.

a reply to: ATF1886

WOW! Good comparison of the size difference. What are the average lengths of these roof rats?

I thought this was a story about politicians breeding . My bad .

Characteristic Roof rat Norway rat
general appearance sleek, agile large, robust
color of belly gray to white mostly gray
body weight 5 to 10 ounces 7 to 18 ounces
tail extends at least to snout, uniformly dark with fine scales shorter than body, dark above and pale below
head pointed muzzle blunt muzzle
ears long enough to reach eyes if folded over don’t reach eyes

a reply to: dooleysleftleg

That scene in the 3rd book when the guy had that fight with his cat has always stuck with me....i was a teenager when i read them myself...good books and i still really do not like rats....

Forget about your household cats.

We will just have to start using panthers to get rid of these.

I always wanted a black panther.

There are many other poisons available, but they all have side affects usually to other animals.

P

You dont know how many times squirrles get into bait boxes and eat posison and die its pretty sad...
As far as a cat id go with an f1 heard there huge a reply to: pheonix358

The animal on the pink shovel is a muskrat not a rat. Good God. Last week it was hamsters for mice or rats for mice (as misidentified in photos by ATS members) now muskrat for rats. Can't anyone identify animals any more. Am I really that much of an anomaly?

Lmao whats a muskrat lol im joking yea people are so out of tune w animals its not even funny...a reply to: AutumnWitch657

Actually squirrels don't usually eat the bait. We have a squirrel problem right now and in researching how to get rid of them most sites said poison is not the answer because squirrels are seed eaters. Believe me I'd poison them in a heartbeat if it would get them out of the eves of my house. But we have to trap them. Bait them with sunflower seeds. Then we release them a few streets away at the golf course.


ply to: ATF1886

So has anyone got an easy way to kill these rats?
Why doesnt some scientist create a poison specifically for rats? Maybe even a virus limited to rat dna?
Im sure some ATS scientists know a thing or two about such an idea!

Lol the actually do eat the commercial grade baits it has seeds in it i work with it all the time its funny how you leave em at the golf course lmao!!a reply to: AutumnWitch657