The bad weather means more rats are taking refuge in people’s cars than ever before, new data suggests. 

A survey by the pest control company Rentokil found that 84% of car technicians had encountered a rat in a vehicle and 57% had found a mouse. 

On Lunchtime Live, Rentokil’s Dr Colm Moore said it is clear that more and more people are encountering rats in their cars. 

"We were getting comments from the lads and the lassies in the field,” he recalled. 

“They were saying, ‘I'm getting more and more of these.’ So we polled them.

“Yes, we have logged these on jobs and whatnot, but just to get that from the field was a very interesting one.”

Dr Moore added that pests live a “very simple” life and are attracted to cars because of the warmth they offer.

Given how bad the weather has been in recent months, rats and mice are desperate for dry shelter. 

“They need food, they need harbourage,” he said. 

“It's been particularly cold recently and wet, that's the main thing. 

“So wet will also drive them out of burrows, natural burrows and so they're going to go to somewhere that's dry, somewhere that might have a bit of food, that we might be just leaving in a coffee cup.”

A mouse. Picture by: BIOSPHOTO / Alamy.com.

Asked what drivers can do, Dr Moore described it as "virtually impossible” to keep animals out of cars. 

“Underneath the wheel hearts they get in,” he explained. 

“But the cars have to be there for a period of time, so it's parking behaviour, but it's also what our behaviour is in the vehicles as well.

“So, are we leaving a half-eaten sandwich there as well?” 

Dr Moore added that underneath the bonnet is “quite common” as well. 

“We've never had as many [calls]... it is on the increase,” he said.

Main image: A rat inside a car. Picture by: Alamy.com.