The change in weather conditions means many things: big bowls of soup; seasonal woollies; nights in by the fire – oh, and the arrival of rodents into our homes.

Eeek!

Yes, 2015 very much appears to be the year of the RAT – with pest control experts reporting that they are being contacted more than 50 times a day by freaked-out folk.

Dubbed ‘king rats’ (we can’t imagine that’s a good thing) the creatures are said to be increasingly resistant to poisons and are cleverly avoiding traps.

Pest controller Trevor Hayden of Complete Pest Control told the Irish Mirror: "There is evidence rats are getting bigger and not being affected by poisons, because they’ve built up a resistance to them."

He added: "The problem is people who try to tackle the problem themselves could be making things worse, as the rats appear to be growing immune to some poisons and are increasing in size by feeding off them."

Rentokil Ireland has also reported a 34 per cent increase in call outs between September and November compared with the same period last year.

And the British Pest Control Association has already warned that rats across the UK are rapidly getting bigger and stronger.

Meanwhile, a horrifying super rat has been found and killed in New York. It is thought that it could be the largest recorded specimen in the world. Pictures of the scary 1.2metre-long rodent – the same size as a small dog – were doing the rounds on Facebook this week.

Earlier this year a giant, a 90cm-long rat was captured alive in Co Tipperary, although it was later discovered that it was an invasive South American swamp species – probably an escaped pet.

He was named Rodney by the nation's media, and was subsequently taken into care by the Kildare Animal Foundation.