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 .

We had rats visibly running around in the garden in the years that we didn't have a cat. Only came in the house once, when the door was open. I caught one in the kitchen and was horrified! Now have two cats and one of them (only one!) is a master hunter, so they never come near and I only see mice or rats that are dead or being hunted.

Multiple plug in things, in all bedrooms and loft if there is a plug socket. Works for my parents very old house. Get a cat, a ginger one

It could well be mice, this time round.

It is the time of year they start to look for warmer shelter.

We got an pest control company round who put down bait in the loft, and did an inspection and showed us the potential entry points. Which we then blocked.

Have you put wire wool in overflow pipes?

No advice but I feel for you. We haven't had any for over a year after we got a good rat man out. But over the last two weeks we have started hearing them in the walls again. I was initially in denial but I can't deny it now. Our landlady couldn't care less so we will pay ourselves for the rat man, again. I could also weep. Luckily the kids think it's funny!

Find the entry point because they're only scouting it out now.

I've had the same, I hope it was mice. I hear them running up the brickwork. Went out at night, found a hole under the eaves, blocked it straight away with wire wool. They are still trying.
Last year clear, year before they followed the pipes and ended up in the sink cupboard. Killed one in a trap. The second one of a breeding pair caught by its leg, nodding its head at me, I freaked out and phoned the mouse man.
I wonder if they are a sign of a bad winter to come.

I bet it’s still drain related. Or a neighbour’s drain?

I feel for you, we had similar years ago in a previous house and it was hell.

I really would not bother thinking about getting a cat. When we had rats in a previous house, we had three cats, all good hunters. It did not deter the rats which were in the cavity walls/under floors so the cats could not get them. We could hear them scrambling and gnawing. Eurgh. Also, my cats actually bring in rodents, so you are just getting another problem!

I bought an electronic device which I found really effective, sorry that doesn't seem to work for you. Good luck!

@neonbluedog oh it’s awful isint it, my neighbours have the same apathy as your landlord. Cant understand it.

@Shellingbynight @Greentreesandbushes can you remover which brand of plug ins you used?

*remember

We have a rat man in out village who has a terrier- the terrier is far more effective than a cat or poison. Would this be an option? They tend to be the kind of people that someone’s mate down the pub knows.

@Jellycats4life I agree I bet it is the drains, When they said they fixed it before they used a lining not replacing the pipe. I suspect I will be shelling out for a further drain survey.

when I eventually did find a decent pest control man last time, he said 95% of the time the rats come from the drains.

@shockeditellyou Ive heard about terrier teams but they only work on farms round here, not interested in residential work.

i could actually do a separate thread on the difficulties in find decent pest control round here, some are just total cowboys, and others barley interested as they get so much work especially this time of year. I pray my good man is available tomorrow.

@SuperFi I had a Pestbye - it was called something like ultrasonic whole house rodent repeller.

I am pretty sure our rats came up from the drains, I could hear them entering on the ground floor, scrambling up the wall, and then running around above the living room ceiling. It was an old house and I dread to think the state of the drains.

thanks @Shellingbynight , will get some ordered.

Going to call a drain company to get the rat gate fitted, and call the pest man too.

I wish I never bought this house.

Have you put the one way flaps on the drains? We did this recently after we had a rat. We have no idea how it got in so just hoping that works!

Just to put a different perspective out there, we got a cat and he did literally nothing to help with our mouse problem and hasn't since. Absolute freeloader

Just been reading on an old thread that a lady with a rat infestation paid loads ( like me) to get rid of the rats.

In the end she was advised to put two nails crossed across the rain down pipe to stop rats getting up. It worked. So will try this as well as the rat flap/ gate.

We have a cat . We also have mice.
Clever friend( you know who you are 😀) left phone on camera video all night and was able to identify entry point in room.
Could something similar help in short term to block immediate access?
Though they'll probably find another point of entry.
Like the sound of drain flap.
And , though not much better, could be squirrels or mice.

Wow you are brave.. There is no way I could grab one by the leg. I wish I wasn't so frightened of them but I am.

I totally understand where u are coming from we had a problem last year and I ended up on tablets through the sheer terror of having them .im going the same way this year the problem for us is our neighbour who just doesn't care about her garden . so it's a great place for them to breed .
I hate this house and am so desperate to leave worst decision we have ever made is buy it . just want to let u know you are not alone .

I pull my sofas out every couple of months to clean behind them as they are large, heavy objects.

One was against the external wall in a corner where both walls are external walls.
Last time I did that I found a hole eaten through the external brick wall into the house from the garden behind that sofa.

It wasn't there in September and it was a big hole about the size of a squash ball, not some teeny thing you could stick a pencil in.

They might not be coming in through pipes, they literally ate a hole through the side of my house to get in.
On the outside, it must start below ground level as you can't see any trace of it there.

If you have any large furniture like bookshelves, dressers, freezers, large sofas or built in units etc.. against external walls on the ground floor that don't get moved often, it might be worth checking behind them.

Thank you @Silvertree188 , this makes me feel less alone in my current plight. The thing that makes it worse is that DS has autism and I have to hide it from him as he would FREAK out. Last time when he heard noises I said it was pipes/ bird in chimney. Never knew I could be such a good actress.

The vender sold me the house knowing it was infested, ( we found old rat traps in the loft) , I really thought I had conquered it. I hope that I can get sorted before we sell.

@HumanRightsAreHumanRights Christ, that’s terrifying, I’ve already pulled the sofas out and cleaned the floors and chucked a load of peppermint oil around. No holes thank god.

I have only started putting the central heating on this week, seems they have taken it as an invitation.

@whatwouldyoudoifisangoutofkey yes I thought of using wildlife cams before, but I am so terrified of them I wouldn’t want to watch it, pathetic I know😞 Will speak to pest control guy about it tomorrow, maybe he could view the footage.

Have you checked if the local council will help? Though ours only does rats now - we're on our own for mice, bees, wasps etc - they've been really good. I guess in the end they're like burglars all we can do is make our home the most difficult to get into, they never go away, not unlike burglars.