Maybe your favorite bar or restaurant will have to close soon due to a rat plague? That could well be the case. The number of emergency closures due to pests has increased considerably in recent years.
Last week there were images of a large one on social media rat plague in a restaurant in Javastraat in Amsterdam. This incident happened to end up online where it was widely seen, but it is not a unique case. In which the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).2023 Another 34 shops and catering establishments closed due to serious nuisance from pests 2024 65. In 2025 that number rose even further to 75 emergency closures.
When the NVWA detects a pest, through inspection or notification, the company must close. Pests can spread bacteria and diseases through their droppings. According to the NVWA, a building may only reopen ‘when all contaminated food has been removed, the building has been thoroughly cleaned and effective measures have been taken to combat pests and keep them out.’
Not all companies will survive such a closure and the costs associated with these measures. For example, Pizzeria Costa and Food & Drinks 4711 in Den Helder went bankrupt in 2025 due to such a closure, after thousands of mouse droppings were found, it reported Noordhollands Dagblad.
