Oh god, the rats are back. Don’t know what else to do to get rid of them.

[SuperFi]

I posted here a couple of years when it became apparent that the house we bought had a rat investation. Many measures taken:

all viable external entry points blocked.

drain survey, collapsed drain identified.

drain fixed.

Broken drain grate replaced and void underneath filled.

We haven’t heard anything in the walls/ attic for 18 months, then this morning heard them in the loft again. I could weep.

we live an a 1930 end terrace of 4, the neighbour next door claimed last time they never heard anything🙄

I am calling out pest control tomorrow, but really need to identify how the fuckers are getting in.

would be grateful for any advice, at my wits end. I should add that I am very phobic of them .

Oh we had this years ago in my mums house we lived near a rail way it's horrific I could hear them running around in the attic . Get a cat honestly a nice sadistic one that loves to hunt they won't come near then , I made my mum and dad take in a lovely stray she is spoiled rotten now but that cat loves to hunt and no more mice or rats .

So sorry OP, I would be totally freaked out too. I have a fear of rodents getting in.

I’m no expert by any means, but as an end terrace my guess would be they’re coming in from next door’s attic because you’ve taken measure re drains etc. Hopefully the pest controller can find an entry point up there. Have to be honest, no way I could go up there myself so I’m not suggesting you do that!

I’d second a cat.

Did you have the loft examined for entry points? I would start there if that’s where you are hearing them. I would put an electronic deterrent up there temporarily and then get someone back to look for entry points again.
agree, cat or ratting dog.

So sorry OP. We had this, though we’re in a semi so only 2 houses they’re potentially entering through.
what seems to have worked for us is putting a one way flap in the main sewer pipe downstream of the 2 houses (so in my attached neighbours inspection chamber as they are downstream of us). This means rats can’t get into the sewer system below our house. Took them a good week to die/leave after we did this but we’ve been rat free for 6 months

Get a cat. We had this when we moved into our current house, could here them running around and squeaking was so loud especially at night. We also poured poisoning down a gap and filled it. There was an awful rotten smell after in one room so I put it down to a dead rat or mouse under the floorboards from the poison. However, 5 years later we've never had them since. Cats are a deterrent.

They may be coming in from next door so you'll need someone to check for entry points but as you're end of terrace do you have any down pipes on your external wall?
Our exterminator said rats can shimmy up external walls using the down pipes.
They put their backs against the pipe, feet (paws) against the wall, brace themselves into the gap and up they go.
Then they get in either where the pipe enters the house (eroded cement) or in our case our pipe was the one from the toilet which ends above the eaves, they got in under the eaves where the facia boards were.
Absolute nightmare so you have my sympathy

Get the council pest control out, we found them to be very helpful. Are you sure it's rats and not house mice? House mice are surprisingly big and we thought they were rats before the council came out.

You need to keep poison constantly in the loft, they'll come in every winter else. That's what we do, the lady who came out told us what to get to make sure it did the job and we've had no problem since. You probably can't stop them getting in, they'll come up the drain pipe and find a way.

Thank you for your responses

initially we did have the loft checked, they said they had come up through the cavity walls, and that if we sorted the source of the issue ( drains) it would stop. I would like to get the cavity walls checked for entry points, but who would do this?

Good shout about the rat gate, I nearly got one before, but I was told didn’t need one as drains had been fixed.

cats, I would love a cat but my son is very allergic to cats and dogs.😞

@Telemichus I have heard mixed reports about the electric repellent things, I have one on in my bedroom, but it didn’t seem to be working this morning. There is a plug in the loft ( it’s boarded) maybe I should plug it in up there?

@Jessie1259 we called out council pest control last time, they do have good poison, but we’re not interested in looking for entry points, it’s definitely rats.😞

yes, I think I really meant to make you feel as if you’re taking action until you can get someone in! Sometimes I find doing something makes me feel a bit better about things even if I know something isn’t much good!

There are better breeds of cat for those with allergies- honestly having lived in central London behind a row of take aways the only thing that truly deters them is a cat. Do you have an outbuilding like a garage or shed? Get a rescue who loves to hunt and wants a bit of independence or was rescued as a feral . They could have a cat flap to the outbuilding. It’s what farms and people in the countryside often have. Bit like a working dog, a working cat.

@Jessie1259 could you tell us exactly what you were advised to put down?

My neighbours have Rats and refuse to do anything about them, now I have concerns they may have migrated.

I had rats in loft last year. 2 weeks ago heard something running about and literally sobbed. But have not heard anything since so maybe a lost squirrel.

I hope this might be the same for you.

Could you have an outdoor cat? Do you have a garden you can have a shed in?

@Whattodo2024 I thought about this previously, how do you get them to the vets etc if they are semi feral? Also read that you have to keep them in shed/ outhouse for 3 weeks at first to stop them wondering off? we do have a garden with a shed .

We have a cat who does bring mice home but still got rats....

Consider adopting a feral cat which can happily live outdoors. There are cat charities nationwide who require homes for them and they make excellent hunters.

www.catchat.org/index.php/cats/feral-farm-cats

@DeathpunchDan thank you for this info. How does it work if you move house, with a semi ferral? This not our forever home and hope to be moving in the next couple of years .

Oh God OP this is one of my worst nightmares I feel for you. We had a rescue cat, was probably semi feral. He became a very pampered pet but hunted like a tiger and crucially never brought in his kill to share!
However if your son is allergic I think you can get non- allergic breeds as my friend has one. She still hunts and anyway I think it’s the smell of the cat that keep them down.
I worry about this too as cat no longer with us( r.i.p). Definitely get one of those gate things and look into the non allergic cats.

Re moving; we moved with ours.Cats are more attached to territory than people ( although he was v affectionate) so you do have to keep them in for a couple of weeks after moving. We managed to keep ours in for ten days but he started doing dirty protests as was such an outdoor boy and v unhappy. I then got a plastic bag with his litter in that had been peed on and sprinkled a bit around the outside of the house so he could smell his way back.
He went off exploring for a day, thought we’d never see him again, but he was back for tea. 🐈

@PontiacFirebird it is my worst nightmare too, can’t believe going through it again. TBH I have never truly settled in this house after the initial infestation was discovered.

I'm not sure, but worth asking the staff at the rescue charities, they may be able to assist or give the best advice. Good luck, anything is worth a try!

In our old house, rats got in through chewing through plastic grills on air bricks and going up inside the walls. We replaced them with ones with metal grills.

In our present house, mice get in using the pipes for the old hot water heating system which uses one of those big water tanks. The tank has gone but the popes are still in the walls.