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So had a rat problem couple of weeks ago with a rat getting into my kitchen/living room so called the council in who poisoned said animals. Following that there was a week or two of no scratching noises etc.
Now the rat or rats are back. Having closed up access downstairs they cannot get into my kitchen which is good, but I can hear them scurrying in the attic, presumably using the cavity wall as access.
How can you deal with rats where access is so easy? More poison? Block the cavity in the wall some how? For information the cavity is insulated if that's likely to make it easier or harder for them to climb?
Block access points, remove food sources.
Also...
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We had them climbing up a hedge and in under the eaves. Been fine since I’ve been keeping hedge shorter.
@ mattyfez
Sure, rats are bad but nothing deserves UB40. Get something more humane like sticky pads for them to get stuck to and eat their own legs off in order to try and escape.
The buggers will gnaw like crazy on any exposed electrical wiring. poison... snappy traps... block up holes with chicken wire etc. but most importantly, remove their food source.
I'm hoping since the kitchen is blocked from both rats and UB40 the easy food source has gone so they will bugger off.
Poison is ordered but blocking holes is hard to do since I can't see any obvious ones
Have you checked behind your kitchen units?
You need to find out where they’re entering the property. Is it semi-detached or terrace? Could be entering through a neighbours property. Could involve ripping up flooring but I’d check around soil pipe(s) exiting the property and perhaps get a drain survey/camera to check for cracks where they may be able to get from the sewer into your house. Also - as horrible as it is having to check/empty get some proper old school traps that kill em. When one dies from the poison the smell is beyond horrific and there will be lots of flies.
Yes checked behind kitchen units and filled a hole there after they'd eaten the first lot of poison- need to check it again though.
I'll have to proper look under the floors at weekend and try and find their entry- would they always stem from the sewer? Drains/cracked drains come up a lot when googling.
And from the first round of deaths the smell never really came however flies were in abundance!
Not sure if drains/sewer always the case but it’s definitely where I’d start. Make sure you’re talking to neighbours unless you’re detached. I’ve been in a similar situation to you before and it’s a nasty business. Good luck getting sorted
My mate had them in his ceiling, he lived in a row of joined up council houses and they were coming from an empty house 4 doors away!
If you have any water tanks in your loft make sure they’re covered up. I’ve heard the poison makes them very thirsty.
get a Jack Russell
Mechanical traps - poison results in them dying in small, enclosed spaces with the resultant smell of putrification, blue bottle infestation and people sometimes having to knock holes in walls. Rats can squeeze through brick gaps as small as 2cm and climb up cavity walls.
When I had rats I traced the entry to a small gap in the mortar at ground level hidden behind my wood store. Council rat man said they prefer entry at ground level.
This was after fitting non return flaps and loads of chicken wire.
When I had rats I traced the entry to a small gap in the mortar at ground level hidden behind my wood store. Council rat man said they prefer entry at ground level.
This was after fitting non return flaps and loads of chicken wire.
In my experience they love wood stores! Very cosy places.
You just have to keep going with the trapping, poisoning etc, don’t back off or they’ll be back!
Forget Jack Russells, it's all about Plummer Terriers.
End of thread.
We have suffered on and off for the past 18 months.
End of a row of 5. All started after one of the properties was empty for a while. Called environmental health out treated, went away, repeat. Spoke to neighbours all swear blind they have no issues so it’s left to us constantly reporting.
Said initial
Empty property is on and off vacant and as soon as it’s vacant the problem dies down as soon as residents in it comes back. Assume they are running riot in the property when it’s empty.
Trouble I’m having is restricted loft access and a lot of insulation. Blocked every access to living areas we can find and so far confident the issue is confined to loft. Starting to feel the only way forward is to remove all loft insulation and start afresh up there but that will have to wait till summer now.
Seriously considering going to local MP over it. Environmental Health man says nothing he can do unless others report or he can see a probable issue with another property and as no one else wants to admit anything we are stuck.
It’s gone on that much we almost accept it at the minute.
Feel for you. It’s not nice but equally nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about as our neighbours seem to be.
Sorry for the long post 😳
We had them in our loft for a couple of winters. There is now food source so the pest guy said they were probably just coming in for shelter in the winter. House is detached with no obvious entry to cavity wall at ground level so they either climbed up between drain pipe and wall or from neighbours tree which overhangs the roof.
Neighbours tree has been cut back and all roofline entry points (much of the bird combs were broken) blocked with ball of chicken wire. Poison put down in loft, one day this spring a massive brown rat was seen staggering about on the garden, presumably after being poisoned, no sign of rats since.
Good luck.
Can't help with the rats, but the post reminded me of this, which is probably the best song about a rat problem. Ever!
If you use poison just pray they don't die in a cavity that you can't get to. The resulting smell will cause you to move house.
Stoats is what you need in the loft, don't chew wires and ****ing hate rats/mice.
Also kill/eat rabbits, should be made national treasures. Although they do intimidate our jack russell.
I've had quite high success rates with baited cage traps outside in the past, good if you can tuck them away or put them in/near to a run and semi hide them. Only thing is you then need to shoot the rat. Air rifle.
Had similar issue drove us mad. Rats in cavity wall and loft. All neighbours admitted in end they had an issue. Rats had come up the sewer and gnawed through a waste pipe to access foundation. Only found out in the end with cameras down the sewer. Keep poisoning the blue bottles are better than the scurrying. Best of luck to you.