Rats in walls - how do you know when they’ve gone? Do they ever make single creaking noises here and there? (terrified and haven’t slept all night!)

[SarahR71]

We heard very, very loud scratching/scraping in the wall in January for a few seconds. We eventually got an appointment with Pestology who did a drain inspection and survey of our house and the outside of our neighbours.

We are structurally interconnected with four other houses in our block of five and it turned out there was a massive hole in our direct neighbour’s airbrick.

We found out one of the other houses had heard a lot of scratching in the ceiling/walls a few weeks earlier too.

We hadn’t heard anything at all since the few seconds of scratching three weeks before until we put wire wool in our neighbour’s broken airbrick and all of a sudden we and our other neighbour a few doors down could hear lots of loud scratching and scrabbling…

My neighbour’s airbrick has now been fixed but I’ve been hearing creaks in different parts of the bedroom all night (Even though I’ve read rats make scratching/scrabbling noises, I would never have known we had rats in the walls until we put the wire wool in my neighbour’s airbrick).

There’s a lot more to this but I’m trying to keep it short.
Pestology are convinced it’s a problem with drains (even though we found a hole in my neighbour’s airbrick) and have also quoted us for a lot of expensive and intrusive proofing work because of a shared subfloor.

Other people have said if you block rats in they’ll just make another exit/access point - I’m wondering if this could have happened.
I’ve turned into a nervous wreck - I’m at home most of the time and the house is noisy but not scrabbling/scratching noise. Mainly creaking but other noises too.
We can’t put down traps or poison because the rats were or still are in the walls.

It would be great to hear from anyone with a similar experience

I had rats in the walls, neighbor refused to used poison,

I had to use ALOT of poison to get rid of them - find the attic or other place which isn't the walls and lay poison?

But to your question - yes they are always scratched or scrabbled, they did not make creaks, they are too little

My next door neighbour (who had hole in airbrick) says she hasn’t had a problem recently (she had rats but about ten years ago). The neighbour a few doors down who also heard scratching in his walls and ceiling won’t use poison even though he has access to his ceiling.
We did put poison in the loft previously (I shortened what happened) but we think this attracted them to our house - it has been a nightmare.
We removed all poison and traps from the loft once we thought they’d gone and sprayed peppermint there - we have a motion sensor camera in the loft and there has been no activity since then.

It was a couple of weeks after that we heard the scratching in the wall…

I don’t know whether the noises I’m hearing are rats in the walls. I just heard two consecutive noises in the wall…

The exact thing happened to us and I think is still happening now as I lay awake petrified.

confirmed rat droppings in our drains, pest control put poison down and put a one way rat door on there so the rats can get out but not back in. Thought it was sorted, 3 weeks later I swear I heard something in the morning the other day.

laying awake now all I can hear is a few thumps and creaks and bumps. No scrambling or anything but it’s so hard to tell if it’s just my house or the thumps are creaks and snaps are due to the rats ☹️

have you called pest control back?

I just now heard three quick noises in succession - possibly scratches :(
Trying to convince myself it’s a bird or something else. Also someone on mumsnet said rats are very loud and the noises I heard were quiet.

We called pest control back because we found an entry point in my neighbour’s airbrick but they had quoted us a lot of money to carry out various proofing work in our house.

A Thames Water engineer said a lot of these companies quote for unnecessary works and predicted one of our neighbours would have an entry point (turned out to be true) but the pest control company still think it’s a problem with the drains. I don’t know who to believe.
Our inspection chamber was free of droppings (unfortunately we don’t have one for the drains at the back of the house) but when we had our drains inspected it turned out our neighbour three doors down had been hearing rodents in his ceiling and stack and there were rat droppings in his inspection chamber. Pest control recommended putting a one way valve in an inspection chamber that’s not on our property.

Because of the problem of being connected to the other terraced houses I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to relax. I have started putting earplugs in at night - that helps but I was up late tonight…

I was at a friend’s house at the weekend and realised houses make a lot of noise (even rat-free ones!) I think I’m hypersensitive to noise now but the noises I just heard are worrying me.

If this was me I'd totally be imagining every noise was suspicious. Horrible for you.

I'd get a new pest control company in and start again with the information you now have about the hole in the air brick.

We got an independent one-man pest control guy who was amazing. I'd also be wary of the big companies inflating the job.

Hi im the same has you every noise I hear I think it’s rats I’m so stressed I’ve have been on tablets for anxiety has it affected me very badly .
we had them outside and I keep thinking they are getting in the house . It doesn’t help that my neighbour is so messy .
you have my full sympathy it’s dreadful to be so frightened in your own home .

If you get a good pest controller they will block every possible entry into your house. Ours used chicken wire and some kind of sealant so that they could not chew through it. I think you might need an independent business for them to take a personalised approach to your property though. See if you can find someone on Google with good reviews.

I think we have this problem too. We heard some strange isolated noises and DH convinced me it was just the pipes. Anyway we then heard some isolated noises which sound like our adjoining neighbour was pulling wires through the walls and occasional noises which sounded like a small amount of loose plaster falling near chimney breast and a boxed pipe section. We called an independent man on Thursday who straight away said it sounds like rats in the loft. He went up and first of all said he couldn’t see anything and then said he could. He’s put some poison down in the loft and said he will be back on Monday or Tuesday to check. We live in a 1930’s semi and he said to let the neighbours know and they have heard noises in the walls as well and said they had put down their own poison. Their garden is a mess with breeze blocks, tires, weeds etc. Tonight the noises are louder in terms of Scratching and falling plaster and it sounds like it is coming from a beam in our back living room. Does any of this sound like anyone elses situation?

We had rats. Got in via a gap at our waste pipe and were running around in the kitchen behind the kick boards and in the loft space!

We put down poison but the rat died under our floor near the entry point!!! Hubby had to go and remove it- luckily we left a trap door when we renovated the house. The smell was coming up through the gaps at the radiator pipes! I've never smelled anything so bad. Rotten rat.

The sound is definitely loud! And slower scratches than a mouse. You can hear them running! Gross.

Thanks. I thought I was imagining it, but it or they have definitely got louder and busier tonight. So much for the rat mans poison in the loft working in 24 hours. I am terrified to go to bed and also to get up in the morning. I could barely concentrate on the telly tonight. I doubt we have anything like a trap door.

Having been through this years ago (and it was hell, I really sympathise) the most common cause of rats getting into houses is drains. So pest control probably do have a point.

Bloody hell I could have written your post OP - and huge solidarity with you and others here who are experiencing similar (Silver - I'm on sleeping pills these days due to this so feel your pain) .. I had never imagined the toll this would take on my mental health ... in a way I'm glad this thread popped up as I feel a little less alsone IYSWIM?

Long story cut short - we are semi detached and it turned out the rodents visiting out loft were doing so courtesy of our neighbours and a hole on their property. This has wove been blocked unfortunately trapping what we think is one of the buggers. Neighbours regularly leave their dogs overnight with food left out so a nice buffet for rat.

I swear I hear it several evenings a week above us but it doesn't leave many droppings at all (maybe in next doors loft?) so they, the rubbish pest control next doors land lots has got and also DH are convinced it's probably died.

But there's no smell or flies?

Move.

Bollocks the sounds I heard back in jan were almost like someone was crushing plastic wrapping in the wall, so maybe similar? Followed by a definite pitter patter above our heads

If only we could afford to

Sorry meant to say these were the first sounds I heard. I've lived here for 20+ years so I'm very familiar with the groans and creaks my house normally makes

I might be being a bit naive here but how are they in the walls? Are walls not solid?

Could it not be mice with them being so quiet? We've got this problem right now and poison is down! It's horrible I feel for you!

We had rats in the walls and loft a couple of years ago just after we’d moved in. DH put poison in the loft and blocked up the holes where they got in with cement. He’s not one for being speedy with diy but my god he moved swiftly this time.
I slept in a different room for a few weeks after so I was t listening out for the rats.
The rats have not returned

Biscuit** in our case they accessed property through a hole in neighbours external wall then used cavity wall between houses to move about.

In our case we can't even block their access into our loft as that could then affect ventilation

When you first put poison down they will go mad for it. you get an increase in noise for a day or two then they die.
We have had rats in the roof on and off for 30 years. Old converted barn.
About 18 months ago it got really bad and we have done everything. We have cameras in the loft so we know as soon as a new rat finds a way in. We have traps up there as well so they don't last long. Unfortunately it's not accessable in that an adult couldn't crawl in there.
We have all the drain flaps, discs on the gutters, blocked holes but they always seem to find a new way in.

@Pritas oh no. This is a 1930’s semi, DH isn’t in the best of health and I am absolutely terrified hence getting someone in. Our neighbours garden is a mess with hiding places in lots of junk strewn about in the back garden and the front garden which is unsightly at the best of times.

We had this a few years ago.Definite loud pitter patter of rat feet and srambling in walls.Dog would go insane barking too.We had a one way rat flap put in the drain which didn't work.Then found they had gone under our decking and gnawed a hole through the actual foundations into the house and under the floor/into the wall cavities.Ended up putting poisen down which stopped the scrabbling and then had to rip up all the decking and concrete it and lay a patio as they would have come back.We no longer have rats but it cost us a fortune.I will never, ever have decking again.

Thanks we don’t have decking we have large porcelain tiled patio area. Unsure exactly how they have got in yet (they are quieter today so far) but they usually kick off early evening time when we are most aware of them.

Our neighbour had some building work done an extension during lockdown. Think they have possibly ran out of money for their grand plans hence why back and front gardens are still rough with mess, rubble and discarded old building materials strewn about. The guttering on the back extension is always over flowing and it looks a bit roughly finished off above the extension on their bay window. But goodness only knows.