Companies are reporting a significant increase in the number of infestations in businesses due to new laws curtailing the use of rat poison.
Rodent sightings in homes and businesses across the country have increased by around 50%.
This is the view of a number of pest controllers who say new regulations surrounding rat poison is affecting their business.
The National Pest Technicians Association is meeting with officials from the Department of Agriculture to discuss the issue tomorrow.
The talks will also cover restrictions surrounding rat poison.
Chris Izart from Owl Pest Control is a spokesperson for the association and he says the rules make their job very difficult.
He said: "We cannot use rodenticide as a preventative measure and that's having a huge impact on the frequency of infestation and the size of infestation as well."
The new laws are in place to prevent the poisoning of non-targetted wildlife.
Technical Field Consultant with Rentokill, Richard Faulkner, says the weather is also playing a role in the increase of sightings.
He said: "Seven or eight years ago we'd have got a couple of decent weeks of hard frost that would have rat mortality rate."
Director of Enforcement Policy at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Dr Bernard Hegarty says there is a no typical business when it comes to poor hygiene standards.
He said: "It's very much a mixed bag of premises, premises of all kinds big and small, and some big names and some smaller premises that aren't living up to their legal requirements."
The NPTA is meeting with Department officials tomorrow morning in hope of these regulations being relaxed.
Reporting by Josh Crosbie
