The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word RAT-FLEA
R
A
T
-
F
L
E
A
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "cause of verminous infestation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cause of verminous infestation = rat-flea.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.