A resident of an apartment in Gangnam District, Seoul, Lee Mo (51) said on the 10th, "I encountered three rats when I went to the recycling station in the complex to dispose of trash last weekend," adding, "I was so surprised that I couldn't even throw away the trash, and worried that the rats might spread diseases, so I took my sneakers to the laundry."
Another resident, An Mo (62), also said, "I have seen rats running away several times recently when they hear the sound of car engines in the underground parking lot," adding, "I've often seen wild rats while walking around the park near the apartment, but now that the severe cold has set in, it seems that the rats are coming into the apartment complex in search of warmth."
Jeong Ui-seok, a representative of the pest control company Onestop Pest Control, noted in a phone call with ChosunBiz that they received 21 requests for rat extermination in apartment complexes in the Gangnam area of Seoul just in the first week of February (3rd-7th), saying, "There were times when we've caught rats hiding under the refrigerator inside the apartments." Except for one day during this period, the rest of the four days saw Seoul's lowest temperature drop below minus 10 degrees Celsius. He added, "When the harsh winter cold hits, wild rat packs often hide in houses, receiving about 10 extermination inquiries weekly, but it is unusual to have more than 20 extermination requests in a week from Gangnam apartments like this."
Pest Seven, which sells pest control products online, reported a sharp increase in sales from late January (Jan. 23-31) to early February (Feb. 1-5). One rat poison product sold just one unit at the end of January but recorded 31 units sold in early February. Sticky rat traps also sold 60 units at the end of January and increased to 210 units in early February. A company official stated, "The sales of rat extermination products surged because wild rats have been entering apartments as temperatures fell below minus 10 degrees Celsius in early February."