My brother has just got a cat.

It’s an unusual present for a big beardy 6ft man to be given for his 45th birthday by his wife, but there is method in her madness.

Over the summer they have noticed scurrying and scampering noises in their back garden and last week whilst enjoying a barbecue one of the little blighters, in a cheeky gesture, ran within a couple of feet of them to pick up a morsel from a successful afternoon’s entertaining.

With much haste in an attempt to keep these rodents at bay, they popped over to a cattery at the weekend to find a feline with suitably long claws and a mean look, rather than a big ball of wool, which will meow and make everyone go aaah!

Their plight isn’t unusual. They live in an urban area and it’s well known that rats and mice are never too far away from humans, but keep themselves hidden as much as possible. So if you see one, or two, you can be sure there are heaps more around.

It’s a problem we noticed last summer, living attached to farmland, we saw a rat walk right up onto our patio. Thankfully our neighbour, who is very much outdoor man, also had visitations from the unwelcome creature, and made sure it was made to feel unwelcome, giving it an air rifle pellet for his trespassing ways. It hasn’t been seen since.

However, it is clear that in this era where we all do our utmost to make our homes havens nature’s undesirables can make life uncomfortable.

Why, we only very recently heard how an infestation of mice and cockroaches had closed down Birmingham’s Bull Ring Market for an intensive clean.

So there is a chance that this kind of issue may well affect you and if you don’t want the responsibility of a cat or wish to take up arms to fight the problem there is a solution. It’s ProKill, a pest control service based in Solihull, who helps the homeowner in so many ways.

Birds, insects, fleas and even bed bugs as well as any other hideous unmentionables your mind can conjure up, will meet the end they deserve with Prokill on hand. Best of all they do free risk audits and guarantee their work.

It’s reassuring too that they adhere to the highest environmental standards making sure your health is protected, whilst having a green stamp of approval.

They are a great source of information too with their website arming you with essential knowledge.

I’m yet to see my brother’s cat, but I know in a similar situation I’d get ProKill in and give him a CD and a book for his birthday. It’s a lot less trouble.