RATS!!!!! Help!!!

We don’t have an inspection chamber at the back of our house so our drain survey wasn’t complete (couldn’t inspect drain at back of house). The pest control company think the solution is to get non return valves in the inspection chambers of other houses in the block and to proof our house

It doesn’t sound silly at all. I’ve had a problem with rats, don’t know if they’ve gone and have been up all night freaking out over every noise.
My advice would be to be patient. I changed things too much because I wanted them gone and then they ended up in the walls where I can’t even put traps or poison.
Rats are neophobic (they are wary of any change) so it might take a while for them to take poison or get trapped. My first pest controller came back after two weeks (he was rubbish)

my Sister is renting in London the landlord is doing nothing about the rats he says he will but does nothing it’s so frustrating

Is it normal for pest control to only come back in 3 weeks? It seems like a long time.

I think that was about the interval between visits the first time I had them. It may be the length of a rat pregnancy, because it was about 3 weeks between each time the dogs got very agitated by hearing or smelling them.

I don't think rats are deterred too much by cats.

They're not even deterred by a terrier with a high kill rate. My lakeland terrier was killing 3+ a week when we had a bad rat problem in the area (which also coincided with 2 neighbours keeping chickens). She didn't stop them from coming into the house and using the space behind my kitchen cupboards as a maternity hospital, either. The rat would disappear for a couple of weeks and then come back to have another litter.

The council's pest control guy worked out where Mummy Rat was getting in, which was a surprisingly small gap where a bit of pointing was missing. The dogs knew when they were there and showed us by trying to dig up the kitchen floor to get to them! When we knew they weren't present, my lovely builder BIL came round and repointed all the bits where there were tiny gaps.

A few years later, we got another one, and it was the same method of entry but in a different place. The rat was going up through the cavity wall and into the loft. That one was trapped.

I really feel for you, OP. I was beside myself, especially with the second one, as I could hear it gnawing away in the loft at night and it kept me awake.

Six houses near me had to have all their drains dug up and relaid because rats had got in them, it cost each household several hundred.

I really hope you get shot of them soon.

We also have an ongoing problem behind the walls. I just won't use poison as it's agonising for them, so using traps. We've put a valve on the main drain outside so hoping that will do the trick.

We have an ongoing rat problem, using a mix of poison and traps. We have chickens so attracted to them handiest thing was setting up a cheap ring type of camera so could see where they were coming from/going to. Amazing how they can get through the smallest space.

We didn't use poison as it's a horrible way to die, just traps plus with poison they wander off and die where you can't reach them and stink for weeks as they decompose

Ours are under the floor and as it’s a mid Victorian terrace, I fear they have access under all the houses. Doesn’t help that one neighbour has an unusable garden and rats love an area that is unused and another feeds the birds on the floor. It just seems like too many issues to actually fully resolve the issue……..

We had rats in our last house. We caught 30 in one day, it made me shudder. Ours were under the floorboards they never got in the house thank god but it was horrible for a while. We blocked up all the holes outside with wire wool and insulation foam, set the traps with peanut butter and chocolate ( we had 18 under the living room floor) and kept resetting them every time one snapped. One managed to drag itself away and that smelled bad for a few weeks but once we got them all they never came back. You can overcome them, don't worry it's not for ever,

We had a couple of rats last year. If using a pest control company, skip the camera down drain and if its not an owner business, ask the fella would he put in a drain trap cash in hand, outside of company hours. They'll likely charge a fortune for the camera and propose a drain flap anyway. Keep poison around the edges of the attic as that is their pathway. Check the house for entry points. I also let the neighbours know as they may need to take action also, they could be entering through their house and coming across to yours.

I have put a lot of rat poison down around the places where they are active. And I put this metal pyramid mesh tubes up the drain pipes - as they would climb up inside the drain pipes and get into the roof that way. You can stop them! It takes effort.

personally I’ve chosen to do it myself rather than use a pest control as I’m a bit frugal and my family are country people and we’ve always dealt with mice and rats ourselves. Part and parcel of life!

💐@Annieinparis . Just read your update. I’m so sorry, I really hope it turns out to be something than can be resolved quickly so that you can enjoy your new house in peace.

Reading with interest, we had one too a couple of days ago and the bastard escaped under the kitchen units. Early days of resolution for us too (traps and poison behind the baseboard), and dreading the potential stink issue as we have a houseful of guests next weekend. Also the other night it sounded like something was galloping (not exaggerating) around the outside of the house. Rats are blind and use walls for guidance, so I am thinking big rat claws clattering the plastic seal of our bifolds. I feel your pain, OP x

We had an absolutely horrendous rat infestation, the pest control company said it was one of the worst they’d ever seen. Inherited from the previous owners who knew about it!
Ours really took us years to sort because the first drain investigation we did they didn’t do it correctly.
The majority of the time, they are coming from the drains so absolutely get that checked, that’s what ours was and once it was sorted we’ve had no issues since. Also worth checking neighbour’s house too as suggested by PP. In the mean time, lots of poison down replaced regularly.
It is so stressful, I feel for you!

I'm so sorry OP. I can't stand rats and can feel your stress and exhaustion from your post. Don't have any tips beyond previous posts but sending support xx

How much have pest companies charged?

A rat can get in through very small spaces so check even places where you think might be too small. They hate wire wool so you could try that in any gaps. We had pest control out and you do want them to die away from the house as ours did not and the smell was awful- we just could not get to where it was.

We had a rat problem recently. In our case, it took about three visits from the pest controller, who used poison in bait boxes.

We had them in the loft and they got behind the skirting boards. I hated the idea of them being there, and the constant scratching we heard.

We live quite close to a river, and the high water levels recently have caused the rats to move from their flooded dens to find shelter. Be aware of any source of food. We put a little dried cat food in a dish in the garden for a regular stray, and this may have attracted the rats. I don't think rats are deterred too much by cats.

We had them, it was horrible, so feel you pain.

However, Pest Control using the poison will help to reduce numbers, so you’ll stop hearing them (which I agree is horrible)

Work with your pest controller to help to track where they are coming from, use a tracking powder

Speak to housing standards, ours at the council were great. They can ask neighbours to take action, get the main drains checked etc

Check the outside of your house carefully, we found an entry point, under the flagstones, where the gas pipe comes in. we had the drains checked and they were fine.

Ours is an issue in this row, the houses are early 1800s, with big gaps under the floorboards etc. all the neighbours have had work done.

This get better

Aaah, you poor thing. It WILL get sorted though, so just remind yourself of that. A temporary blip.

All the best in your new home

Contact your water company and ask for a map of the drainage system for your house. It should be indicated on the map which drains are your responsibility and which drains (and any shared drains) are the responsibility of the water company.

You can pay for a camera drain survey to look for cracks and tunnels but these are not cheap. Also check gutters and downpipes and have wire protectors put in the tops of downpipes as they can shin up downpipes.

Often rats come up from the drain, you need to locate and get fitted a device that allows water to drain, but won’t allow anything to come back up, cheap to buy and easy to fit and will stop the problem if this is how they are getting in.