Damn! Rats in the roof

[SillyBillyMother]

There's been a scratching noise in the ceiling of our flat roof kitchen extension for the last couple of weeks. I thought it was mice and have been waiting for a pest control guy to get back to me, but haven't been too concerned tbh.

Anyway, saw a bloody rat run up the outside drainpipe today where it must have access to the inside of the roof.

I'm going to contact pest control tomorrow, and also try to get the access point sealed, but I'm really nervous about rats dying in our roof because of the smell!
Does anyone know how this is a will be treated, or have any tips?

TIA

Had that.
They poisoned them and yes, died in the roof, the smell was seriously revolting for a couple of months, that was a few years ago. They set traps in the loft and caught one but there was another one too ugh

Maybe you can block the entry gap when rat is not in the building, that would help but might be difficult to know when/if its out or not.

@GlassHeart1 thank you for your reply.

I was thinking that it might be possible to do something like pump smoke in there to get them out, but the pest control guy said not. It's going to stink. I'm dreading it.

we found dead ones in the roof and heard live ones. dp shoved some poison in and blocked alll the holes up. You need to block all the holes

We didn’t have any smell

Rat catcher will start with traps. I just paid £140 for four visits. Each time traps were reset and any catch removed. Traps that would break your hand! We didn't get the large mummy rat, our neighbours emptied their ope compost bin of food waste and we think she moved on. Rats were using our shed to feast.

If you are rural the best way is to get someone to shoot the rat. Clean, instant death, no body left to rot where you can't get it. A rat shooter with night vision waits around.

We had them in the garden and used a wildlife camera to find out where they were coming from. They were under the shed and had chewed through the decking.

I can't remember the fee, but the chap my Mum called out charged a set fee regardless of how many calls it took to clear them. He set the traps and came back every 2-3 days to check until he was sure the problem was solved. Also, he managed to work out the access point - flexible toilet hose running between two walls!

I had rats in the loft where I used to live. I didn't want to kill them and didn't want them dying within my property.

Big mistake. They took over everything. I used to hear them running through the walls and fights used to break out between them above my bedroom, waking me in the night.

They destroyed most things in the loft, spreading urine EVERYWHERE and shredding everything to use as bedding for their nests.

They chewed live electricity cables in the loft which were surrounded by loft insulation which is a MASSIVE fire risk.

I tried for months to get rid of them, including calling in pest control several times, but the rats kept coming back. They were very large sewer rats.

In the end it affected my physical and mental health so much I had to move out. I couldn't stay there a minute longer.

Get rid, NOW. Use every method you have at your disposal to get rid of them (although I detest glue traps so never used them). You need them OUT of your house before they drive YOU out.

Thank you all! The rat catcher is coming tomorrow. Can't bloody wait to get it sorted but I'm very worried about the smell.

We've had rats in the roof in every house we've ever lived in. You don't need pest control. Just get a ladder, lift the hatch, put out poison. Truly never had any smell, but I don't go sticking my head up there unless I need to add more poison and that's usually months later.