HOMEOWNERS in West Dunbartonshire are being urged to guard against a fresh invasion of rats this autumn.

Pest experts fear numbers could soar in the next few months boosted by a combination of cooler temperatures and increasingly wet weather.

A national survey carried out by the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) revealed the areas which attracted the most call outs for rats per head in the UK last year.

And the trade body is warning sightings could rise once more as the onset of colder conditions prompts the rodents to abandon their summer habitats and seek food and shelter indoors.

Dee Ward-Thompson, BPCA technical manager, says residents should be doing all they can now to protect their properties.

She said: “Rain washes rats out of sewers and other nesting places and, inevitably, they go looking for shelter in higher ground.

“They’ll try to find some sort of dwelling and that could be lofts, garages or sheds.

“Our members report the number of calls to deal with infestations often rises in the Autumn when the temperature drops often quite dramatically and we’re expecting a similar pattern this time.

“So it’s important for homeowners to do as much as they can to ensure they’re not among those affected.”

Bridgend County Borough Council was named top of the list for rats in 2015/16 with almost 3,000 call-outs per 1,000 residents making up 93 per cent of its total number overall.