Alan Davies

Done.

No warning, no second chances, just the maths.

Will the result be positive or negative?

Or will it simply leave us divided?

For BBC Radio 4, this is Life Without, with me, Alan Davis.

And together, we'll find out whether a life without rats turns out to be the answer we all hope for.

I needed someone to hold my hand through this scenario, so I've got Stephen Belmain, Professor of Ecology and the Centre Leader for Sustainable Agriculture at the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich.

And Joe Shute, nature writer, journalist and the author of Stowaway, The Disreputable Exploits of the Rat.

I'm enjoying your optimistic tone.

Just to be clear, I mean true rats, the animals in the genus Rattus.

There are about 60 species, but you probably only know the greatest hits.

There's the brown rat.

Yes, your cute pet is just a gentrified version of this one.

And then there's the smaller black rat, also known as the house rat, or the classic ship stowaway.

Rats have always been the ultimate fall guy.

And I get it.

They chew through our infrastructure, invade our homes and carry diseases.

Though they were mostly framed for the Black Death, just saying.

So here is my solution.

From this moment on, I officially declare no rats.