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Original poster

Help! Rats in my ceiling void!

46 replies

PickledMuffin · 05/02/2025 21:32

Hi all

We have rats (we think) in the ceiling void of our extension.

We use this part of the house as our dining room and to chill out in the evening, so all evening we can hear them scratching around, probably making a nest with the insulation.

We can't find how they are coming in. We've banged on the ceiling to try and scare them and make them leave but it doesn't seem to be working.

Any tips on how to make them leave?! I don't want to kill/harm them, DP has different ideas.

Pretty sure it is rats because i've never seen a squirrel in the garden.

Thank you

OP posts:
CheshireCat1 · 05/02/2025 21:44

You’ll need to get pest control in

TrumpsOrangeNoggin · 05/02/2025 21:44

Snap traps

PolarBear4788 · 05/02/2025 21:45

You need to get rid of them, killing them is the only way forward. Rats are incredibly destructive, we had them in our kitchen loft and they bit through the wiring for the ceiling lights. As a first step phone your council. They'll send an exterminator around for free. He'll put bait traps up there and try to find where they're getting in.

Ours were coming out of a disused drain which ran under the kitchen, then getting in from the foundations in the cavity wall. We had to have a drain survey to find the problem and then a sleeve fitted in the pipe.

imisscashmere · 05/02/2025 21:48

Does the room have an external wall? Go outside and look for entry points. You need to figure out what kind of animal this is, pronto.

PolarBear4788 · 05/02/2025 21:49

Oh and if they die up there, your house will stink like Satan's arse crack for a good fortnight. Get rid of them now before you have to smell that smell or pay for remedial work like re-wiring, the litter buggers will chew on everything

User19876536484 · 05/02/2025 21:50

Are you sure they aren’t mice?

Original poster
PickledMuffin · 05/02/2025 22:04

They're deffo not mice, they sound larger ☹️

OP posts:
Wishitwasstraightforward · 05/02/2025 22:07

Could it be squirrels OP? We have had squirrels in our loft.....

PercyFone · 05/02/2025 22:07

Just adding in squirrels as another possibility... we had them in our loft and they were a bugger to get rid of.

AnSolas · 05/02/2025 22:10

Find your water tank in the attic and make sure its covered asap.
Thats a likely daily spot and death by falling in 😬

Original poster
PickledMuffin · 05/02/2025 22:12

Thankfully we don't have a water tank.

Also, very little squirrels where we live.

OP posts:
lovemycbf · 05/02/2025 22:16

We had rats in our cavity last year
They'd eaten through the cellar door and once inside they ate a big hole in the brick wall
The only way forward is to put lots of bait down sadly.
I don't like using bait but I could hear them chewing the wood beams
They've most likely got in through the brick walls,check the entire perimeter of the whole house outside

BigAnne · 05/02/2025 22:17

Pest Control ASAP

OldTinHat · 05/02/2025 22:20

Unfortunately @PolarBear4788 is not correct in that the council will send pest control round for free.

My neighbour had a rat infestation which spread into my house (under the floors and ceilings).

We had to pay for a pest control firm to do a survey on each of our houses, then bait and visit every week until the rats had gone.

The council did nothing except suggest pet control companies.

It wasn't cheap!

octoegg · 05/02/2025 22:23

Pest control might be included if you have Home Emergency cover, worth checking.

User19876536484 · 05/02/2025 22:25

PickledMuffin · 05/02/2025 22:04

They're deffo not mice, they sound larger ☹️

We have had both. The mice sounded just as big as the rats.

EducatingArti · 05/02/2025 22:27

Rats can get in through a hole that is the size of a 50p piece.

Original poster
PickledMuffin · 05/02/2025 22:35

@EducatingArti 😳😱

OP posts:
marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 05/02/2025 23:09

Could be birds?

Atstritchsitchmitch · 05/02/2025 23:15

Check your home insurance, you might have pest control on a home emergency type add on, which doesn't impact no claims.

snowlady4 · 05/02/2025 23:19

Get the professionals in. Don't delay. They will breed. And breed. And breed.
I know you want to be kind to them but extermination is really the best way to get rid. Imagine they chew through your ceiling and come into your living room!!! They can be so destructive.
Horrible situation for you.. good luck.. hope you get sorted soon!

Sunshineandrainbow · 05/02/2025 23:20

We paid less than 100 pound last year for 2 visits from pest control, it was a horrible few weeks as they were in the loft and every night felt like a bush tucker trial above my bedroom. Even now every tiny sound up there makes me shudder.

User19876536484 · 06/02/2025 08:48

When we had rats in the attic, we killed one and the others moved out.

mumonthehill · 06/02/2025 08:54

You do need pest control out I am afraid. Then you need to go around and seal every tiny space they may be getting in. We had them and they ended up in the house and it was horrible. Unfortunately you will need the experts to get rid of them.

its2025 · 06/02/2025 09:00

Try using some snap traps first - i use peanut butter as bait. Hopefully that will tell you how much of an infestation you have.
Personally I wouldn't use bait - as when they die in your loft void it will make an unholy smell.