To think my neighbours are doing it again (rats)

[Swimminginroses]

Sone time ago our neighbour had a problem with rats, due to being dirty, they got into the walls/loft space of my house and damaged the wiring.
We got an electrician to remove the damaged light and make it safe.

The neighbour is still dirty but we’ve had no further rat problems.

This morning, the lights and tv have switched off and on again 5 or so times in the space of 2 hours.

I’m worried the rats have gotten back into the loft and damaged more of the electrics.
But, last time we could clearly hear scrabbling and banging in the walls and can’t hear anything this time...

Any electricians here who may be able to shed some light on what is going on please?!

If it is rats then you and the neighbour need to seal up entry points and lay traps/poison, or it’s just going to keep happening. Regardless of whether your neighbours are “dirty” or not. If there’s a way in then the rats will use it.

Surely someone would have to come and check your wiring. Although damaged wires can cause a fire so I wouldn't mess about.

As for the rats....you need to bait immediately (I am not listening to the MN antirat poison brigade). Nail the bait in the loft and you can see if it's gnawed.

But just for the record we have had rats in the loft and we are not dirty in any way. The house is clean and tidy. There is no food in the roof. There are lots of drains around and we think they come from there. We bait and check regularly. Nothing for a while now....but as the weather gets colder they tend to look for warmth.

In what way are your neighbours it a dirty?

You need a qualified electrician to check your electrics, no one on MN will be able to advise if it’s the rats that are causing the issue or not.

I’m not going to go too far in detail but when I say ‘dirty’ I mean the shock houses featured on tv for hoarding level dirty.
It hasn’t been quite so bad since the council got involved but given I never see any bags out in bin day I have no doubts they haven’t changed.

And yes I know I need an electrician but I truly can’t afford it yet so was just asking to see if anyone had experienced similar and could advise me what to expect before I manage to call them.

Faulty wiring can cause a fire is there someone you can borrow the money from?
Failing that can you ask the electrician to come and look and give advice only?

Rats are nothing to be with being dirty.

We have a dreadful problem with rats in my area (the council rat man told me he's been to almost every one of the 200 or houses where I live). We've had them twice, and my colleague, who keeps a spotless house, has had them too.

Get the council's pest control person round (usually free, even my tightwad council doesn't charge for this) to identify the entry points and then block them up. They may set a couple of traps and/or put down poisoned bait if they think they're still in the house.

Some companies will do a free electrical safety check, google for ones in your area and get them to come and check.

Electricians can be expensive but due to the risk of fire it's important to get it checked. If not then for now maybe try a pest control company? We found an excellent local company that identified all the possible entry points and sealed them up. It's unfair having to pay out due to neighbours issues but delaying it will only make it gets worse. Rats can make a home anywhere but keeping the local area clean is hugely important. Report them to the council if you think they are hoarding rubbish again.

Our rat problem has returned in another part of house (neighbours have a dirty junk filled outbuilding which backs onto our kitchen extension and we're pretty sure rats in there have tunnelled their way into our kitchen or getting into the cavity wall from the roof. We can hear them up there as well as food has been eaten. It could mean removing all cupboards and removing all appliances). It's a nightmare and unfair as I keep my house, particularly kitchen spotless, and we can't afford to keep calling out pest control. Council pest control charge a smaller fee but ours are currently unwilling to enter properties due to covid. Hope you get it sorted OP.

I write on every rat thread I can find. When I moved into my new house rats had chewed through drains, backs of kitchen unit, plaster board and electrics. They had cost thousands of pounds of damage. We knew the house was in a dirty state but had no idea about the rats and the damage they were causing. It’s taking me 18 months to sort out. I had to bait inside and the garden and fill several holes. Please please get on top of it and talk to your neighbour. Things can get 100 times worse.