Two young people told ERR they saw several rats in front of a popular restaurant in central Tallinn.

"It gave me a horrifying feeling because the rats were quite bold. So it made me think about the table where I'm eating – how sure can I be that it is completely clean?" Maia-Liis Ossip said.

"I believe they don't make it into the kitchen, but what if they've been on the same table where I've eaten, walking around and doing their thing at night?" Mihkel Kööbi said.

The rodents are increasingly being seen around the capital city, and district governments frequently receive messages from residents about sightings. Lasnamäe, Mustamäe, Haabersti and Põhja-Tallinn have already begun mapping where the rats are most often encountered.

"They are still found where there are residential buildings and where there are rubbish bins. You could say that the first step in controlling rats is to look at the places where they get food – whether the areas around our rubbish bins are clean, whether entrances to buildings are closed – if we make life as uncomfortable for them as possible, there will also be fewer rats," Põhja-Tallinn district elder Manuela Pihlap said.

Põhja-Tallinn is accepting reports of rodent sightings until Sunday, August 16. Pest control could cost up to €7,000 and will be carried out during the autumn months.

Pest control specialist Meelis Lepp said it should not be delayed.

"Right now is the last chance. If you start in November or, even worse, in February, it's already too late. By then they're in your home, or they've already chewed through the wires, or they've eaten the vegetables," Lepp said.

In apartment buildings, poison bait boxes can be placed near the building.

"A recommendation here as well is that if you start using poison, residents of several neighbouring buildings should do it at the same time, because rats are smart animals. If they realise that bad things happen to them in one place, it's easy enough for them to move to another building or woodshed," central Tallinn resident Indrek Hirs said.

Rats also reproduce quickly. Pregnancy lasts just one month, after which they are immediately capable of becoming pregnant again.

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