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If you have been following this blog recently, you will know that we reported on the closure of an Indoor Market in Birmingham and two days ago a case of giant rats, or possibly coypu.  Well, we have some good news and some disturbing news when it comes to these cases.  We’ll start with the good news.

The good news is that the indoor market in Birmingham has reopened.  At first it was only supposed to be closed for one day, but by the time we reported on it, that estimate had been upped to three days.  In the end, it was closed for four days.  As of now, it is open again.  It was originally closed when cockroaches and mice were found to be inhabiting the market, so the doors were locked so that pest control technicians could fumigate the place.  It is now up and running again, and although it has been tough on the stall owners, they are happy to be back.  As are the customers, who are reportedly glad to see the place looking a lot cleaner as well.

The disturbing news is that the rats in Lincolnshire and Bradford, which we posited were probably coypu are now believed to probably be very large rats.  The photographic evidence from Lincolnshire was always inconclusive because of the angle at which the rodent was being held.  Now someone who has actually seen the rat is insisting that it is not a coypu, a semi-aquatic plant eating rodent from South America, but is instead a very big rat.  How did it get so big?  It found lots to eat.  Or so the theory goes.

A giant rat, possible like the ones in Bradford and Lincolnshire

Of course the rats in Bradford have still not been confirmed, and the local authorities are still denying that there is a problem.  Whether you choose to believe the eye witness accounts or the politicians who don’t want to deal with a rat problem in their area is up to you of course. It all started when residents claimed to have a killed a giant rat, nicknamed “ratzilla” a few days ago.  With the sighting of what seemed to by a Coypu less than a hundred miles away, it appeared as if this might have been a similar case.  However, with the coypu turning out to be a giant rat (probably), “ratzilla” has to be taken more seriously as well.  In fact, perhaps the link should be made with the report a few days before that of an increase in the rat population in Bradford due to more food being available to them.  We can all understand that more food equals more rats, but it is also possible that more food equals bigger rats.

At the moment, however, everything is still unclear.  Is it a case of giant rats or is it going to turn out to be coypu after all?  How long will it take before the authorities finally have to admit there is a problem?  We’ll keep you posted of any new occurrences.

Tags: Birmingham, brabford, coypu, giant rats, rats

Written by Paul Simmons

Paul has been working in the pest control field for 6 years and enjoys writing about contemporary events relating to pest problems and solutions in the UK