West Yorkshire rat catcher shares revolting moment creature hides in toilet as woman sat on it

Rat-catcher Kieran Sampler with his helpers, lakeland terriers Poppy and Penny
-Credit: (Image: Yorkshire Rat Pack)


A Yorkshire rat catcher has told how a woman discovered a rodent hiding inside her toilet while she was on it.

Wakefield dad Kieran Sampler, 30, says he has also found the creatures hiding underneath beds and in furniture. He said he got a call from the woman to say that a rat had climbed up her drains and was hiding in the bottom of her toilet while she was on it.

Shocking footage from the incident shows the rat - which had since drowned upside-down in the water - stuck at the bottom of the toilet.

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Kieran said: "The rat had gone up another line of the drain and has come up into the toilet - while a woman was on the toilet. So we had to get it out, it was pretty bad - I've never had it where it's come up the toilet. She was screaming. Imagine being on the toilet and something brushes against you.

"I had a client that had a rat that was living in the wooden lats of a bed - it's crazy what I've seen. I had one where a cat brought the rat in during the night, so the family trapped it inside the bedroom. I brought my dog in, he identified it straight away but the rat ran into the draws of the bedside table."

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A rat in the toilet -Credit:SWNS

Kieran set up his Facebook page - Yorkshire Rat Pack - in 2018 and he shares jobs on there and supports other rat catchers. He also founded his business, Vermicure Pest Control.

Instead of using traps that he says could traumatise the rodents, he trained his two Lakeland terriers Poppy and Penny to locate and kill the rats in the most humane way possible. Kieran said: "They kill the rats in seconds. It's more humane than using poison in my opinion, which is why it's never been made illegal. It also works quicker than poison - in a good way."

Kieran says he uses more humane techniques to catch rats
Kieran says he uses more humane techniques to catch rats -Credit:Yorkshire Rat Pack

He said there has been an increase of people finding rats over recent months and recommends to cut down garden foliage, "rat proof decking and pick up dog poo regularly to keep them away. Kieran said: "This winter is going to be bad. I'm already getting farmers ringing me up two months in advance.

"Winter time is a vital time for rats - they love foliage so if you've got heavy foliage in your garden, then I would recommend cutting it back. I would try and reduce bird feeders, you can't force people to get rid of them because everyone likes them, but I would try and rat-proof them as best you can.

"Decking is a nightmare because rats love decking - try and proof it up because they will go under it. A lot of people don't pick up their dog poo straight away, but that attracts them. If they go inside the property, then it's more than likely a problem with your drains. When they go into the drains, they eat the human waste and human faeces."