Pest control call-outs and rat sightings have gone up in the Welsh capital, according to figures from Cardiff Council.
The statistics show that pest control callouts to the council’s own buildings went up by more than 100 from January 2022 to December 2023.
However, private bookings made to the council’s pest control service for the same period decreased, although they rose to the highest figure for two years in January 2024.
Cardiff Council has advised members of the public to remove potential nesting sites and urged them to properly dispose of food waste.
A council spokesperson said: “Rats are adaptable, highly mobile and breed rapidly. This combination makes it a difficult task to eradicate rats without suitable training.”
Cardiff Council data shows there were 289 rat sightings recorded by its service in 2022. For 2023, this rose to 306. The number of private bookings made to the council, however, went down from 1,414 in 2022 to 1,381 in 2023.
For the same period, pest control callouts to council buildings went from 928 to 1,078. There were 146 private pest control bookings made to the council in January 2024, the highest number since January 2022, when there were 147.