Increase in 2024 • Rats live and thrive here: “Like an all-inclusive hotel”
Almost 1.1 million rats were caught last year.
This is an increase of five percent compared to the year before, Anticimex’s new report shows.
– They can cause major damage by gnawing pipes and undermining the ground under properties, says Magnus Rosenholm, pest expert at Anticimex.
The rats like to live underground, in wires and pipes, where they find both shelter and food. This is often where the problems begin.
– It’s like an all-inclusive hotel down there. There is free access to housing, food and water. They can cause damage by breaking floor drains, gnawing on pipe parts and undermining the ground under properties, says Magnus Rosenholm.
Almost 1.1 million rats in 2024
According to Anticimex’s annual rat report, 1,076,148 rats were caught last year, which is a five percent increase compared to 2023. One of the main reasons is the densification of cities. At the same time, more traps have been set.
– It can also show that there is an increased need for us to have digital equipment out with our customers. In other words, traps that both combat and show the presence of rats, says Magnus Rosenholm.
According to the report, the problems are particularly large in the big cities. In Malmö, rats are often caught near trash cans or underground at waste stations.
– There have been many rats. Citizens have seen rats running across the square, they are in flower beds. Or our contractor has conveyed that when they have opened the bins, there may have been a rat in them, says Liliana Ravanshad, area manager for park and street centre, Malmö city.
Rat-proof bins are a solution
During the last two years, the city of Malmö has focused on the waste problem. Most of the trash cans in the center have been replaced with rat-proof models that are specially built with traps underneath.
– We noticed that in the beginning the traps caught a lot of rats. Over time, the population has, we interpret it as, decreased and therefore the number of catches decreases and then the number of error reports also decreases, says Liliana Ravanshad.
Anticimex’s advice is to tackle the problems immediately.
– The rats reproduce incredibly quickly. The best thing is to prevent and keep it to a reduced level so that you don’t let it shine, so that it becomes an unsustainable situation, says Magnus Rosenholm.