Like many big cities, London is notorious for its issues with rats. What’s more, there are dozens of urban legends and myths surrounding these pests. For example, it’s said that London’s rats can climb walls. It’s also said there are rats in the city that reach the size of small cats. But is it true that there are millions of rats in London sewers? And why do they choose to live there?
The fact is London’s sewers are teeming with rats
In fact, you could refer to the sewers as “rat city.” Yes, according to experts there are an estimated 20 million rats in London sewers. This figure may seem incredible, but as pest controllers, we can tell you from our experience that it’s probably true. In fact, it seems like the London rat problem gets worse over time.
But why are there so many rats in London sewers? There are a few simple reasons for this. The biggest is that most rats are deathly afraid of humans. Rats understand that we are much larger than them. This means that we can easily kill them. Also, after centuries of living with us, rats know that to a large extent we wantto do just that. What this means is that rats avoid humans as much as possible. This is essentially why they live in sewers. People rarely go down into them, which means the rats are left in peace and feel protected in these spaces.
Something else rats love is the cover of darkness
These pests are nocturnal and mostly come out at night while we are asleep. This is when they move about the most and look for food. What this also means is that they do not need light to see. This is why they do not mind living in darkness and actually prefer it.
Another reason why rats love sewers is because it allows them to move around the capital with relative ease. You can think of sewers as a kind of London underground system for rodents. They can run up and down tunnels and pipes and go wherever they please. They can do all this without ever encountering a human. From the rat‘s perspective, this is wonderful.
Along with all the above benefits, sewers also provide rats with food. They can eat any food that might end up in the sewer. For example, rats often feed on cockroaches. Finally, sewers are also warmer than above ground. This also makes them a terrific place for rats to escape from London rat control to live and breed in comfort.