Rats in bedrooms HELP

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Hi guys, I really need some advice!
I live i a semi detached council property. My next door neighbours house is privately owned. She had had rats living under her decking for several years but refuses advice from pest control to pull up her decking to treat the problem. Anyway, over the years they’ve started I know she’s had some problems with them getting into her house.
But now they’ve found their way through the walls and onto my house!

We hear them in the walls and loft at night. Me and hubby have been sleeping downstairs on the sofa after seeing one in our bedroom a week ago! It was huge! It obviously has a hood food source from somewhere given its size, but we’ve seen no evidence of it taking food from our house, so I assume it’s finding food next door.

Anyway, I rang the council pest control. They said they need to treat the problem at the source (next door) so SHE has to call them out too. In the meantime, he advised against using poison as the smell will attract more rats from next door into my home. So we bought traps instead, and laid them around the house….but so far haven’t caught anything.

We spoke to our neighbour last week, told her everything. She said she’d ring pest control, but so far I’ve seen no evidence that she has.

Then last night, the rat got into my 6 year old sons bedroom whilst he was sleeping!! His door was closed, but it chewed up the landing carpet (brand new carpet might I add!) and got under his door. I’m heartbroken. I feel like I’ve failed to keep him safe. And now he’s gonna have to sleep in the living room with us.

I feel so helpless, and I don’t know what options I have if my neighbour continues to refuse to acknowledge and treat her problem.
I’ve begged the council to help, but they seem to believe they’ve fulfilled their legal obligation and aren’t interested in doing any more. As far as they’re concerned, we have traps out, and we’ve been advised to tell our neighbour to call them out too.

We’re sitting ducks!

Please, can anyone advice what rights we have as council tenants, or anything at all we can do to resolve this!
I’m flipping terrified in my home!!!

A quick Google says:

The local authority has specific legal powers to take steps to ensure that its area is free from rats and mice. They must take action to destroy rats and mice on their own land and can serve a notice on an owner or an occupier ordering work to get rid of the problem.

It's the CAB site: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-common-problems/repairs-infestations-of-pests-and-vermin/

I would be kicking up a massive stink about this with the council and your neighbour. Completely unacceptable, your poor son!

Have you seen this man on Twitter? He is really effective at holding local authorities to account on social housing. They often respond pretty quickly when he's involved.

If the council continues to drag its feet, a firm called Sanctum Consultants will help you at a very modest cost. I found them excellent and they solved my neighbour and council problems (not rats but your problem is right up their alley too). You can Google their website.

Surely you can buy rat poison - you can get bait boxes - hole is big enough for a rat and you put blocks of bait in. Or anything described as rat poison - it does attract them so put it down your garden - refilling it when required - loads of it until they stop eating it which shows they are all dead - hopefully under ridiculous neighbours decking.
I would have done this at the first sign.

I'd be going to speak with the neighbour every morning and every evening, telling them exaxtly how a small child has rats in their bedroom, until she phoned pest control. Some councils have a neighbour mediation service, they might be able to help you?

Thanks for all your advice! It’s so appreciated and I’ll certainly look into all suggestions.

I’ve just been exploring my wee laddy’s bedroom, and it looks like the rat has been hiding around the back of his chest of draws and chewed up a couple of his wooden tracks from his train set. I feel sick.

My neighbour is hardly ever home, and she is a hard woman to catch, but I’m trying, I think we’ve gone beyond trying not to offend her and I’m ready to play holy hell when I see her!
I do feel bad for her, because she is partially deaf so may be genuinely missing some signs that she has rats in her walls. And her mental health is obviously a problem after her marriage broke down and she lost a close family member. She never opens her blinds, her garden is a mess and I suspect her home probably is too. But she hasn’t always been this way, and I do feel sympathy for her. But this isn’t fair.

I’m seriously considering getting a cat right now!

Can environmental health advise you

Get the council on the phone and pass to her when she’s home.

So sorry you're going through this, that's awful :(
I wouldn't go down the route of poisoning them yourself, as when they die in the walls or under floors the smell is absolutely horrendous (had this in my work place, and it took weeks for the smell to go!).

Keep on chasing up the council, might be worth looking up your local councillor's details and contacting them directly to see if they can help too. Some councillors are really active on social media too, so try messaging them there. Worst come to the worst, take it to a local newspaper until the council take some action :(

Local MP?

Horrible situation for you. I hope you can get it resolved quickly.

You could get a cage trap and bait that. I think it would be fairly successful inside your house and you don’t have the problem of the rat dying and stinking. Unfortunately the rat is caught alive and then needs dispatching and they are vicious.
Traditional rat traps, the larger version of a mouse trap, also work well but the springs are really strong and can break fingers. I would try one in your sons room when he isnt in there. I would also push for the council to take action.
Pack as much stuff in your house away or off the floor as you can so there are fewer places for them to hide. Ensure there are no food sources.
Rats carry disease so do all you can to block up the holes and keep them out of your house.
A working terrier will catch more rats than a cat

Thanks so much everyone.
My neighbour has been out all day, still isn’t home, but I’m determined to catch her for a chat as soon as possible.
My little boy is sleeping at my mam’s tonight, so we’ve put a trap in his room. Fingers crossed!
Also, the idea about going to our MP is a good one, and will definitely be our next course of action if the neighbour continues to be uncooperative/ignorant.
Do here goes night number 9. Here’s hoping the traps might catch something tonight.

We already have a golden retriever, but she is old and arthritic and as much use as a chocolate tea pot when it. Ones to deterring this rat.
I used to have a Yorkshire terrier though, and would love an excuse to get another!!

The trap probably won't work tonight - rats don't like change.

An electric trap (electric cat on amazon) with a bit of peanut butter in the same place for a couple of nights will probably start to catch them. Poision from B&Q is identical to what the council people use, but do something asap because they will chew through everything and breed etc