NO matter who you are or where you live, finding a rat in your home is one of the most unpleasant experiences imaginable.

So residents of this affluent Wirral town may be concerned to hear it has been named the borough’s “rat capital”, after the number of complaints the council received about the rodent – and from where they were made – was revealed.

Figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request to Wirral council show that since the start of 2017, there have been a total of 489 service requests relating to rats.

They are fairly evenly spread out across both east and west sides of the M53, although some may be surprised finishing in the top two in terms of numbers of services requests was the relatively affluent area of Upton, and West Kirby – home to some of the borough’s most expensive properties.

While Liscard was the area in the table with the lowest number of call-outs since the start of last year with just a single entry, there are others unlisted across the borough with none at all.

The figures just include the number of pest treatment service requests received by the council’s environmental health department, but not complaints over refuse nuisance – which can also be associated with rats.

Here is the league table of the 40 Wirral areas that have seen council environmental service requests for rats.

They are listed in reverse order:

40th: Liscard (1)

The Wallasey village has had just a single request, recorded in October last year.

Joint 33rd: Port Sunlight, Raby Mere, New Brighton, Seacombe, Spital, Thornton Hough, Poulton (2)

Residents in all seven of these areas will be pleased to hear there have been just two call-outs in each since 2017.

32nd: Beechwood (3)

The area around the housing estate west of Birkenhead has seen three call-outs during that period, which all happened last year.

31st: Claughton: (4)

A couple of miles down the road is Claughton, which had a single entry more than Beechwood.

30th: Gayton (5)

There were five call-outs in this area between Heswall and Parkgate listed in the data release, most of which were related to reports of a rat in the garden, shed or detached garage.

Joint 28th: New Ferry, Caldy: (6)

27th: Wallasey Village: (7)

Joint 24th: Saughall Massie, Thingwall, Leasowe: (8)

23rd: Barnston: (9)

Areas including Barnston, New Ferry and Wallasey Village all saw fewer than 10 incidents since the start of last year.

22nd: Hoylake: (10)

Joint 20th: Rock Ferry, Meols: (11)

The affluent areas of Hoylake and Meols both feature mid-table – with 21 call-outs between them.

Joint 15th: Pensby, Eastham, Bromborough, Woodchurch, Bebington: (12)

Joint 13th: Noctorum, Irby: (14)

Among those coming in joint 13th and 15th is Pensby, where all 12 of its complaints were logged last year. Nine of those related to rats in the garden, shed or detached garage, while three were when rats were found in the living area or loft.

12th: Newton: (16)

11th: Tranmere: (18)

Joint 9th: Bidston, Birkenhead: (19)

While Birkenhead and Tranmere both came high up in the list, it might be surprising to some the area, often subject to litter and uncleanliness issues, did not see more rat complaints.

8th: Oxton: (20)

7th: Prenton: (24)

Neighbouring Oxton and Prenton received a similar number of complaints, with 11 of the former’s 20 involving reports of a rat in the garden, shed or garage.

Joint 5th: Heswall, Moreton (26)

4th: Greasby (28)

All three of the areas in fourth and joint fifth are located on the more affluent west side of the M53, with 28 complaints coming from Greasby – 21 of them in 2017.

3rd: Higher Bebington (29)

Higher Bebington sits four places above its northern neighbour Prenton in this league table with 29 complaints – the vast majority of which related to complaints of a rodent in the garden, shed or garage.

2nd: Upton (30)

Narrowly missing out on top spot is Upton, where nine of its 30 total complaints since the start of 2017 involved a rat in the loft or living area.

1st: West Kirby (32)

Some may be shocked at the affluent West Kirby coming out as top of the table with a total of 32 call-outs.

2017 saw a huge 24 incidents – six taking place in January alone – while 2018’s incidents were mostly reports of rats in the garden, shed or garage.

Responding to the news, Cllr Andrew Gardner, whose ward Hoylake and Meols covers much of West Kirby town centre, said: “Clearly this is an important issue and I encourage residents to continue to report rat problems to the council, the better the picture, the better the solutions will be.”

He said he had one complaint in July from residents in relation to rats, which the council investigated, adding: “It is also a reminder that litter and poor waste control feed the rats and that any attempt by the council to reduce bin collection frequencies is a very bad idea.”

The council confirmed there are no plans to reduce the number of bin collections, and a spokeswoman added: “The council provides a pest control service for both households and business properties across Wirral.

“Residents who find rats at their property are advised to act quickly and employ a reputable pest control contractor to look into the problem. Those who try to deal with rats themselves may find that without realising it, the methods they use affect other local wildlife while leaving the rats untouched.

“The council’s website includes details about our range of pest control services, including a telephone advice line for anyone who needs more information.”