Rats crawl and jump out of bins in horrifying footage

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The population of rats has exploded over the coronavirus pandemic, increasing by 25 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to Pest.co.uk. One waste management company attributed the issue to “overfilled” bins from hospitality venues.

Mark Hall, a spokesperson for BusinessWaste.co.uk, told Express.co.uk that the situation was “quite distressing”.

While there were other pests making a meal out of rubbish, rats were the “big one” when it came to run-ins with refuse collectors, he said.

One of the company’s binmen, who declined to be named, told this website: “We’ve definitely seen an increase in rats, especially since Christmas when more rubbish was out for collection.

“It’s also much worse on a Monday after the weekend, due to more rubbish left out from restaurants after the weekend.

“It’s pretty frightening and makes you feel a bit sick.”

They added: “I’ve never been bitten by one, as I’ve learnt to look out for the cheeky pests over the past few years.

“But it does slow down my job as I have to go around with caution, and rattle the bins before I get rid of the waste. A shift doesn’t go by when I don’t see one run away!”

Mark Taylor, a binman from Addingham, said: “When we go to empty a bin on a Monday, there’s a stream of rats running to safety.

“It’s really bad if it’s a food store or a restaurant, and they haven’t secured the lid.

“We’re clubbing the bins with a big stick, then giving them a couple of minutes to run away. It’s terrifying.”

Adam Bailey, director of operations at waste collection company Divert.co.uk, commented: “Once disturbed, the vermin are in a state of panic and run in all directions.”

“Our teams now go into action with trousers tucked into boots and sleeve cuffs done up tight. But that’s still no guarantee.”

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Mr Hall added: “Our operators come up against rats on a daily basis, but Mondays are especially bad and our teams are genuinely worried about getting bitten”.

He also told Express.co.uk that he and other waste collectors had received a number of strange approaches from people looking to kill the rats for fun.

Mr Hall said: “There is a subset of people who really enjoy killing rats, and every now and then I’ll get emails saying ‘you don’t need to pay us, we’ll come down’.

“I don’t know why they call it ‘ethical’, because it doesn’t sound very ethical.”
He explained those who contact him usually want to use Yorkshire terriers to hunt down the vermin, or use air rifles.

Mr Hall added: “I’ve had that email numerous times, and so have other people. It’s not just one mental guy sending that out; there are people out there who want to kill these rats.”

Asked how the situation could be improved, Mr Hall called on bin owners not to overfill their bins or leave the lid unsecured.

He said: “That means people who run restaurants, food shops, pubs – anywhere that produces tasty, tasty food waste – needs to lock down their bins every time they use them.”

There was also an issue with food waste going into a general waste bin, which could be left out on the street.

Mr Hall said local authorities “need to enforce that if you’ve got food waste, it goes into a food waste bin.”

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