Rat sightings treble in Scotland's biggest city - and rodents 'are getting bolder'

Rat sightings in Scotland’s biggest city have trebled in a decade, according to official figures.

Glasgow City Council has received almost 10,000 reports of rats this year with almost a fifth of the rodents being spotted inside flats and houses.

The number of sightings is three times higher than 2014 but, according to GMB Scotland, one of the biggest unions in Scotland’s public service, only confirms what Glaswegians are seeing every day.

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John Slaven, the union’s organiser at the Glasgow council, said the number of rodents and their boldness is increasing exponentially.

He said: “It was once unusual to see a rat but most people living and working in the city wouldn’t blink twice now.

“Seeing a rat is like seeing a pigeon and no Glaswegian will be at all surprised by the explosion in rat sightings.

“There would be more surprise if the council ordered effective action to curb numbers instead of wringing its hands and saying everywhere’s the same.”

Slaven blamed cuts to street cleaning crews, reductions in bin collections and more fly-tipping for the rising numbers of rats and called for more pest control teams.

The GMB is also campaigning for ministers’ to sanction emergency funding for the city to be deep-cleaned before hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026 and for a tourist tax to be urgently introduced with cash ring-fenced to improve the city’s streets and parks.

The statistics obtained by GMB Scotland under freedom of information legislation also undermined official claims that lockdowns during the pandemic caused a surge in rat numbers as they moved into more residential areas.

Rat sightings actually fell during the pandemic with the highest annual increases in the last decade being recorded by Glasgow City Council in 2016 and 2018.

In 2014 there were 932 sightings of rats reported in flats and houses and 2433 outside. A decade later, in the first 11 months of 2024, there have already been 1912 rat sightings reported inside and 7869 outside.

Slaven said: “The behaviour of rats may have changed since Covid with more of us working from home but there are many other factors behind the rising numbers and many ways of reducing them.

“More crews keeping the streets clean, bins emptied, and fly-tipping under control would help on one side and more pest control teams would help on the other.”

Earlier this year, the union cheekily suggested the city should adopt “Cludgie the Rat” as the mascot for the Commonwealth Games unless urgent action is ordered and funded to control the rodents.

Chris Mitchell, GMB Scotland rep in the council’s cleansing department, said: “The crisis is clear but so is the solution.

“It is about resource and setting priorities but the city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods are in an emergency situation that demands emergency action.”

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Rats are unfortunately a fact of life in large urban areas and Glasgow’s experience fits with other cities across the UK.

“It’s believed the covid lockdown prompted a significant change in behaviour with rats moving into more residential areas, where they have become visible.

“There are other environmental factors that may contribute to these figures such as a milder winters that allow rats to survive for longer and older infrastructure that can allows easier access for pests

“Rats are always in search of food and somewhere to nest.

“Householders therefore have a vital role in deterring the presence of rats by ensuring food waste is properly contained, bin courts are kept in good order and food intended for birds and other wildlife is regularly cleared away.

“Property owners are also responsible for ‘proofing’ their buildings to prevent rats from accessing the property through, for example, broken pipes or gaps in stonework.

“The council offers a pest control service for domestic premises only and householders are free to employ private contractors if they wish. Commercial operators must employ a private contractor if required.

“In a city of over 300,000 homes, thankfully only a very small percentage of properties are affected by rats at any one time.”

A spokesman said: “Rats are unfortunately a fact of life in large urban areas and Glasgow’s experience fits with other cities across the UK.

“It’s believed the covid lockdown prompted a significant change in behaviour with rats moving into more residential areas, where they have become visible.

“There are other environmental factors that may contribute to these figures such as a milder winters that allow rats to survive for longer and older infrastructure that can allows easier access for pests.

“Rats are always in search of food and somewhere to nest.

“Householders therefore have a vital role in deterring the presence of rats by ensuring food waste is properly contained, bin courts are kept in good order and food intended for birds and other wildlife is regularly cleared away.

“Property owners are also responsible for ‘proofing’ their buildings to prevent rats from accessing the property through, for example, broken pipes or gaps in stonework.

“The council offers a pest control service for domestic premises only and householders are free to employ private contractors if they wish. Commercial operators must employ a private contractor if required.

“In a city of over 300,000 homes, thankfully only a very small percentage of properties are affected by rats at any one time.”

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