In the nineties I lived on an island where rats were a BIG problem. One needed to store all foodstuffs in rat-proof containers, as well as soap and candles. They ate everything. they would run over your face in the middle of the night. Cats helped, but there are stupid people in NZ who think that cats need to be shot, because they 'eat the birds' and are 'not native'. Nevermind that cats actually catch rats, not birds, and the rats are not native either, and rats eat birds eggs and cause far more damage. Anyway, our cats regularly got shot by these rabid people, and so we had rats. just like everyone else.

Anyway, pertinent to things eating hair: there was a homeless guy who had dreadlocks, and used to fall asleep on the beach - he was often drunk or stoned. He would wake up when rats were chewing his hair.

We left this island.