* Rats spread life-threatening diseases: Weil's disease (Leptospirosis) and Typhus. They also carry Salmonella bacteria, viruses and parasites such as nematodes and worms.
* Rats can cause structural damage to buildings and fires can be caused by rats gnawing cables.
* The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the most common found in the UK.
* They are omnivorous, feeding on both meat and vegetables.
* They are sexually mature at 2-3 months; their litter size is generally 8-10 offspring and they have a reproduction rate of 7 litters per year. Potentially, a breeding pair (and their offspring) can account for up to 2,000 rats in one year.
* Rats can be found anywhere that offers shelter. They are efficient burrowers and can often be found around compost heaps, hedges and sheds. In houses they will nest in wall cavities and under floorboards.
* Their sense of smell is far superior to that of a human and the smell of rotting food proves irresistible.
* One of the most common problems associated with fortnightly general waste collection is the attraction of flies to the bins or side waste. Many residents report discovery of maggots in their wheeled bins - in summer months the eggs can hatch in just a few days. Some residents report finding hundreds of maggots on the inside of the bin lid - in fourteen days they can reach the next stage of their life cycle and will then need to leave the confines of the wheeled bin in order to find somewhere more suitable to pupate.
* Flies are the greatest carrier of dirt and disease known to man. Over the two or three months they live an average female lays up to 900 eggs, each taking just 9-15 days to progress through its larval and pupal stages to adulthood.