Rats in loft

[keepcalm11]

I have rats in my loft, I am so down about it, very tearful today.

Ive put some rat posion out, curretly looking at local pest control services

It's an old property there are holes and gaps and cavities everywhere, it seems like an impossible task.
Has anyone been in this position and sucsessfully got rid of them.

I much prefer them to squirrels, which are more destructive and really hard to get rid of.

Not certain if I had rats or squirrels in my roof space. Thatched roof and no loft hatch to gain access to see what was going on.

I have a starting pistol that we use to frighten cormorants away from a lake we live next to, so one night I fired it into my bedroom and not heard a thing since.

I have a neighbour who is a bit strange and doesn't mind her rats and mice. They run freely in the house and it makes me feel sick. I hate them and have spent a year fixing the problem in our house to make it rodent proof (more or less). Plugging gaps in brickwork is a start, putting gutter guard over guttering helps to block their transition and then looking for internal routes inside your loft. White vinegar is good at cleaning affected areas as that smell is disgusting. Rats hate wire wool so stuff that into holes. They love chocolate and fish so poison some and leave it in the loft. Use rubber gloves when touching anything in the affected areas. The diseases off rats are hideous. I live in an inherited property, and inherited a dog with chronic disease contracted from the rats. Vet wanted to put him to sleep, but we have nursed him back to good health. Peppermint oil is another deterrent as they hate the smell. It has worked for my pesky problem. You can buy plug in noise repellant kits that are supposed to scare rodents away. We had some but don't know if it worked or not, as I was using other methods at same time. Environmental health will come out and set traps for you if you call them. You may have pest cover on your house insurance as well.

Hi which pest control company did you use?