Millions of mice and rats invade rural towns in Australia

Swathes of mice are infesting rural towns in Australia after its bumper grain harvest and destroying crops as the country continues to battle its out-of-control rodent plague. Residents in New South Wales (NSW) and southern Queensland have seen an explosion of mice in recent months with the rodents invading homes, fields and grain silos and … Read more

Social media: Users who are desperate for likes are ‘similar to lab RATS seeking food’, study claims

Social media users who are desperate for likes ‘have thinking patterns similar to lab RATS seeking food’, study claims Experts from the US and Europe studied some one million social media posts They found that people tend to space their posts to maximise ‘likes’ in response This involves posting more on average when you get more … Read more

Brain implants the size of a penny combat drug addiction in rats

Smartphone-controlled brain implant the size of a PENNY combats drug addiction in rats – and it could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease and depression in humans Korean researchers made the gadget which is roughly as long as a US penny   Tiny LED lights manipulate neurons in the brain as instructed by a phone app   Circuit in … Read more

Bizarre moment Chinese man walks two rats on the street with wires tied to their mouths

Bizarre moment man ‘walks’ two rats at a Chinese street market with wires tied to the rodents’ mouths The strange scene was spotted on Sunday at a bustling market in southern China Footage shows the man walking two rats with wires as though they were pets The ‘on-leash’ rodents appeared to have silver hooks tied … Read more

Katie Price ‘left terrified as her new rented Surrey home is overrun with RATS’

She moved into her new £4,250 per month six-bedroom Surrey home earlier this year after leaving her infamous ‘mucky mansion’ behind. But there’s already trouble in paradise for Katie Price as it’s been reported that her rented abode has been overrun with rats. The former glamour model. 42, is said to be ‘terrified’ as her … Read more

Covid-19 lockdown sees rats flock to suburban homes

The gnawing fear that something was wrong first surfaced this summer, when the emissions warning light kept flickering in my wife Angela’s Honda CRV, and occasionally it would refuse to start. It was only a couple of weeks ago, however, when a pipe under the sink sprang a leak and we found a bite-sized hole … Read more

CRAIG BROWN: You dirty rats – stop eating our tortoises!

One day you’re a hero; the next you’re a villain. In these topsy-turvy days, which of us would be a rat? Four days ago, we were asked to raise our glasses to Magawa, a seven-year-old African rat who had been awarded what the BBC described as ‘a prestigious gold medal’ for his work in detecting … Read more

Pet tortoises are being eaten ALIVE by hungry rats deprived of kitchen scraps during lockdown 

(Not so) fast food! Warning as pet tortoises are being eaten ALIVE by hungry restaurant rats deprived of kitchen scraps during lockdown Tortoises are being attacked by rats who are being deprived of their normal food With many of the UK’s restaurants closed, kitchen scraps are not being left out Owners have complained of their … Read more

Some rats are more ticklish than others – and you can tell by how much they squeak with ‘laughter’

Some rats are more ticklish than others – and you can tell by how much they squeak with ‘laughter’ Rat call patterns could be used to measure their emotional response to actions They emit a number of high frequency vocalisations in a response to tickling  This is similar to human laughter but it was impossible to tell … Read more

Britain’s biggest hoarder had mummified rats in his home filled with 6ft-tall piles of clutter

An extreme hoarder who began collecting junk 25 years ago after his mother died admitted his home became so cluttered he wasn’t able to use the kitchen or bathroom for four years. Paul, 72, from Crosby, Merseyside, appeared on Channel 5’s Hoarders last night, and viewers were disgusted when clearing expert George discovered a mummified rat … Read more