RATS!!!!!

My spies (my 91 year old mother actually) tells me that the papers report that we are being overtaken by a plague of rats in SE1. Should anyone see a gaily dressed piper, followed by hoards of children, passing down BHS, please photograph it.

In the time I've lived here I don't think I've ever seen a rat. I've seen mice and foxes but no rats.

I saw one about 9am on a Sunday running towards Borough Market down the arch off BHS.

I don't know who was more surprised, me or him. I've had more trouble with foxes than rats!

Regards,

Loafer

I've only had close encounters with one rat in SE1 - a few months ago. It was the size of a large cat and was digging its head in the bins near McDonalds by the Guys Hospital arch. When I noticed him, I was between him and the entrance to McDonalds. It noticed me stared right into my eyes. We both froze for a few minutes and it lept for feet from the bin. I swung my bag at him and did an Olympic qualifying high jump to avoid him. He ran straight into McDs... It's the largest rodent i've ever seen and definetely put me off ever eating at that McDonalds...

I see them quite regularly near me. They are indeed the size of cats and the feline which was as still as a ... errm mouse whilst watching one the other day would be ill-advised to challenge them!

I've seen rats in my garden; they enjoy it when my neighbour has a BBQ because once the coals have cooled their straight up there feasting on the remnants of food stuff left on the cooking rack. Only ever had mice in the loft not rats thank god!

I have seen the odd one running into potters fields early in the morning. I walk to work about 7am when it is real quiet, never seen one when there are people about.
We had mice a while back, but never rats inside thank god

I think I have only seen one in the last 10 years Jackie, and it was a dead one, my old cat must have had a terrible fight with it and the rat bit him in the throat because the vet found a yellow tooth!

We have/ had them in our house in Alma Grove. We had the rat man in and he put poison down. I caught two in traps in the kitchen, which was horrible as I hate to see anything killed, but with a 3 month old baby I was left with no choice. I burried them with a dignified ceremony in my garden.

I think we've beaten them now. They were also in our loft - no idea how they got in there, but we could hear them moving around at night -which was nice. The rat man put crazy amounts of poison up there and it seems to have cleared them.

We had some rats around just over into the SE16 border - it was resolved when Celia Hammond kindly provided a colony of feral cats, which solved the problem. Some of the tenants are now getting stroppy about the cats though. I don't know why, they're lovely.