The rat league of Greater Manchester

When it comes to things that make your skin crawl, discovering a rat in your house or back garden probably tops the list.

Unlike the popular 2007 Disney film Ratatouille suggests, it is highly unlikely any of these creatures will be whipping you up a delicious meal – it’s more likely they’ll be giving you a fright.

Despite many councils making huge efforts to reduce the problem, many residents of Greater Manchester are still plagued by the pesky vermin in and around their homes.

Rat problems hit some areas worse than others – which is why the Local Democracy Reporting Service has created the ‘Greater Manchester Rat League for 2022’.

After submitting Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to each borough council, data has revealed the worst offenders in the region for rat problems last year.

It is important to note that some areas are bigger and also have more densely populated communities, which may affect the figures. 

The data shows that there were more reports from inside the home than outside. Wigan had the most callouts, but claims that this is due to their three visit approach tripling their figures.

Here are the rat callout figures for each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs:

• Wigan – 3,605
• Manchester – 2,407
• Salford – 1,000
• Stockport – 832
• Rochdale – 771
• Bury – 640
• Bolton – 600
• Oldham – 431
• Trafford – 363
• Tameside – 286

Rochdale – 771 total callouts

Very much a mid-table borough when it comes to rat callouts, Rochdale council stated they’re the cheapest vermin eradicators. The council also highlighted the ways in which they undertake this work that can cost about £28 for residents blighted by rats.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “We offer a pest control treatment service and treatment for rats using professional bait and advise residents on proofing and measures to discourage rodent activity. We charge £28 to put bait down which is subsidised and is for up to three visits. 

“We are still the cheapest service for treating rats out of all the local authorities in Greater Manchester. We visit, treat and advise businesses throughout the borough who have contracts with us. 

“We also carry out baiting of sewers throughout the borough. The team also carry out proactive work to look at rodent activity in problem areas and provide advice and treatments on a wider scale, for example, on land or blocks of properties. 

“The team also regularly delivers talks to advise community groups on pest control. We record all reports of rat sightings and requests for our pest control treatment service within the borough to the environmental health service and regularly monitor them.

“This information is used to inform activities, including where to target our sewer baiting treatments. We have recently undertaken research to understand where the rodent issues are and the uptake of the pest control service.

“We are also reviewing our pricing structure to make the service more accessible and affordable by looking to offer a reduced rate for residents on council tax support.”

Breakdown of data by ward:   

• Balderstone and Kirkholt: 39
• Bamford: 23
• Castleton: 44
• Central Rochdale: 40
• East Middleton: 41
• Healey: 27
• Hopwood Hall: 32
• Kingsway: 61
• Littleborough and Lakeside: 9
• Milkstone and Deeplish: 67
• Milnrow and Newhey: 25
• Norden: 20
• North Heywood: 43
• North Middleton: 34
• Smallbridge and Firgrove: 28
• South Middleton: 30
• Spotland and Falinge: 49
• Wardle and West Littleborough: 13
• West Heywood: 44
• West Middleton: 59
• Unspecified: 43

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter