Rats!!

[cooperbug]

We have been living in our house for the past 3 months and just discovered we have a problem with rats!

The house backs onto a large field/nature reserve. We also have a large decking area which we plan to get rid of as don’t like it.

What can we do in the meantime before the decking comes up to get rid of them. We have two young children so needs to be safe for them.

I feel sick at the thought of this as our new house is our dream forever home!

Limit any food sources near your house.
Check for holes they can get into
Phone a company to put down bait boxes

Get pest control in.

As above, plus eliminate any sources of standing water.

Look on your council website. Most now don't have a pest control service for rats, but they may have recommended companies. The pest control people will also check your house for any possible entry points.

You have my sympathy. We first had them where they got in via next door and one died in the cavities and had maggots dropping through the airing cupboard.

The stench of dying ones trapped where you can't get them, is beyond grim. We get them 2/3 times a year where we see them outside and usually 1 or 2 of the other neighbours will alert us they have them and we treat together. This has so far prevented them from getting back in the houses. I also put a small panel across my back door in the summer, when I like to leave it open, as I caught one trying to walk in.

Without doubt, get a pest control company in. They will put proper bait boxes down and know where to put them. The poison they use is not what you get in diy stores, that will not be strong enough. Wire wool even the tiniest of gaps inside and outside house. Check any gaps you may have with pipework going outside to drains. Rats can also climb so if you think they have got inside, check the loft. Good luck.

We had a mare last year when pubs etc were closed and they went elsewhere in search of food. They are defo getting into our garage (it’s away from house ) but touch wood are not in eaves any longer 🤮🤮🤮
We had people out.
They put bait down but what actually worked, and relatively fast-
Blocking off all guttering with mesh and putting a stone in front so debris can come out but rats can not get up
Clearing all debris/ Ivy from walls near house
Stopped using compost heap (one of those darlek looking things not an open one)
Rat box near house (this was after one jumped through back doors into house 😱🤮😱)
Neighbours did the same.
2 of us have digs and another cats.- they weren’t bothered by any of them!!!
The bait caught up with them - when there was the most awful stench in a wall with a void between us and adjoining neighbours.
Grim.
I really really hope they’re not back again, but based on local FB groups the issue is back.

Anyone want to buy a house? 😂

Are the rats IN your house or just in the garden?

I think you need to get a cat. Apparently rats are more bothered by cats than mice even.

We have had mainly mice but a few rats over the years. Out very timid cat has (probably just her smell) got rid of them all. None seen now for 4 years.

We have had issues for YEARS - putting poison down - being woken at night by them scratching at night ...... solved it all with a plug in device - emits a sound that we can’t hear and they loath - lifechanging - they use these in restaurants / warehouses etc

Good advice from PPs on this thread

To protect your home: Get a plug in: I have just ordered this

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YDQC9L7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2UUAY0IJZWVFT&psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Get rid of all food & water around property
Plant mint & garlic

Poison: either pest control or a website called pest expert sells same stuff... but pest control better 1st time as they can tell you scale of issue, entry points etc

Wash/mop your floors with bleach solution, outside with jeyes fluid

www.primrose.co.uk/-p-696.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TCZSedcKE4o-4LXlRd5k8DsOoJQ9rX5v3dcwgnZS1eWz1e6erCKOdxoCcr4QAvD_BwE

We got this got this one. Not seen or heard from them once since. Life changing.

Need something similar for the wood pigeons in the tree shitting on my car !

Call the council and they will send the rat catcher. You’ll have to pay but totally worth it!

We had a smell in the house like rotten cabbage approx 6 weeks ago. That is gone now but we do have black flies that are getting into the house daily since last week only (not sure if linked!)

No other evidence of them in the house such as rat droppings or scratching sounds/squeaks.

I have spoken to pest control at the council but they seemed to think more a problem with drainage (before we spotted the rat in garden) as said smell would have been more foul?!

When we had them in the house (yes, the kitchen) our local friendly pest control company came out several times and really helped work out where they were getting in, what they were likely attracted by and helped set traps etc, as well as wiring up holes and trying to secure entry points. Our dog had gone on holiday to my parents but we got him back and so far we don't have them in the house any more but they're definitely outside. Tbh it's just life in the countryside but you can do a lot to stop them getting inside.

When you lift the decking they'll go batshit so be careful! (Not like they'll run up your legs, just that they'll try to find somewhere new to live)

@Neighneigh will we see them under the decking?

@cooperbug probably not actually see them but you'll see the holes they dig, and there will probably be a network of tunnels. They'll be able to tell you're coming so will scarper, but afterwards they'll try and find a new home. Sorry to be gross, it's just what happens! Apparently they hate things being moved around so if you've got furniture/pots in the garden, try and move them occasionally too

When you remove the decking, be careful not to trap any rats in corners- stand well back to let them have a clear run out. They will go for your throat if they panic.
My previous cat was a keen ratter and would bring them in alive to play with. I tried to steer one rat towards the door with my broom, and it flew at my throat - I ducked and it went right over my shoulder!
The joys of rural living.

@Babdoc I gasped out loud at that! Do they really do that?! I feel a bit sick thinking about it. I would be absolutely terrified

Sieve flour or sugar soap onto floors, follow tracks and block up holes. It works.

We had some a few years ago. Someone came with a camera to look down the drains as apparently they were getting in through one of the underground pipes that run under the back garden.

Yep they stink when they die. We had one due under the floor when poison was put down and the smell was the worse thing ever. Pervasive.

So glad they’ve seem to be gone for a couple of years now.

@Babdoc

When you remove the decking, be careful not to trap any rats in corners- stand well back to let them have a clear run out. They will go for your throat if they panic. My previous cat was a keen ratter and would bring them in alive to play with. I tried to steer one rat towards the door with my broom, and it flew at my throat - I ducked and it went right over my shoulder! The joys of rural living.

Sweet Jesus . Revolting creatures.

Babdoc! 😱

If you live backing onto fields you will always have them outside in the garden. The trick is not to have anything they like - don't feed birds on the ground, no compost bin or pile, no standing water, clear up any food sources that are at ground level like apple trees dropping apples, plum trees dropping plums. Decking is a favourite cover for them. Put sheds on hard standing. Don't allow holes/entries to develop in brickwork, where pipes meet the house, in outhouses, basements. On the whole, if you maintain your property, you won't have issues. They are just animals. I have never seen one go for anyone's throat. They live in families and play together. They are scared of humans.