Help!! Ongoing issue with rats in the roof.

[greyhairdontcare]

We live in a converted bungalow and have been hearing rats in the ceilings upstairs and downstairs for over a year now. We’ve had the council in who just put poison down (which got eaten) and a private company who helped us block up some holes under our decking and also put poison down which poisoned one that stank out the house for weeks. We’ve also put traps inside and out and caught one inside but are still hearing noises.
Has anyone used pestology and had good results? They’ve quoted an eye watering amount to do a survey so I know it’s going to cost a fortune (and my husband doesn’t think they’ll sort the problem permanently so isn’t keen to fork out more cash when times are tight) but I’m getting desperate! Please tell me they can eradicate the problem once and for all. If they can I’ll happily sell a kidney to pay for it…

Get poison pellets & load all the areas they run yourself & go around the outside to find where they are getting in. Do you have anywhere with long grass in your garden or nearby? Chances are that is where they are coming from, if it is on your land, clear all the grass. Have you tried the sonic plug ins you can buy that claim to get rid of them? It may mean removing your decking as they may be getting in where you can't see. Failing that get a terrier who is a good rat catcher.

100 percent peppermint oil will repel them humanely.

@Nat6999 thanks for the advice. We’ve tried pretty much all of that. We removed the decking to fill the holes and have a sonic device plus traps in the roof space. We have removed some of the ceiling down lighters and put poison up there too. Some areas it gets taken but weirdly the areas we hear the most noise it doesn’t get touched. No long grass but lots of overhanging trees/bushes which we need to get cut back I think. We’ve covered all the air bricks outside too. My parents have a terrier and she’s not caught anything although my whippet has started chasing stuff under the relaid decking recently so wonder if we’ve not filled in holes adequately before putting new decking down!

Where are you based? If within Greater Manchester I can recommend the pest controller I used for rats, he was incredible and fully eradicated the problem.

I would say try using a private pest controller rather than the council. I know lots of people who have had useless council pest control but private companies have been more efficient.

The bloke we used charged a flat fee for three visits. He identified entry points, located nests, put incredibly strong and poisonous bait down in every location there were evidence of rats.

On the second visit he checked all the poison containers and topped them up. Helped me ensure entry points had been fully closed off.

On the last visit he was able to confirm the poison was clearly working and signed us off.

He estimated we had between 30-40 rats with the amount of droppings he could see. The scratching and scuffling stopped within a week and once the hideous smell of them all dying had passed we have had absolutely no signs of rats ever since.

@sallladfiingerss we’re near London so too far unfortunately. We did get a local guy in who made several visits and charged us a set fee. He’s the one who advised us to rip up our decking to fill in holes and cover our air bricks with mesh grills. The problem disappeared for a few months but now it’s back with a vengeance. I’ve tried peppermint oil too @KosherDill (first thing I tried)

Try going on the next door neighbour/ love your doorstep app and find some recommendations for pest control. There will be someone on there who can help you out locally.

Have you checked your drains to make sure that they are not using a broken pipe to access the house?

You need to figure out how they are accessing the attic space so you could try get a wildlife cameras with good nightvision, strip back insulation and aim it at various selections of your attic to see what "paths" they are using

Hi

I would be very grateful if Sallladfiingerss let me know who she used for her rat problem in the Gtr Manchester area please.