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Original poster

Rats in the loft!

33 replies

Verminprobs · 08/02/2025 21:04

We have been in a privately rented house for 2 years and just before Christmas discovered there are rats in the loft. DP looked after we heard scattering and saw the droppings!

Letting agent told us to contact a local pest control company who have been out twice, declaring that the rats were getting in through an old vent in the garage that had become unsealed. Sealed it back up, rats persist as I can hear them every night when I’m in bed. when the pest control chap looked in the loft he actually found old bait trays that they use themselves, so it’s evident the previous tenants had this issue too.

Spoke to the agency to let them know it’s persisted and they’ve come back saying they’re sending round their handyman to see if there’s any holes that need filling.

Surely a handy man isn’t going to cut it when pest control have already had a look around? Something else is going on and needs proper investigation.

We are going to have to bin our belongings in the loft because I sure as hell am not using anything up there for my kids after rats have been all over it for months!

I can’t take it any longer. Every night I dread going to bed because I can hear them in the foundations of the walls and above my head in the loft. It sounds like they’re going to get in to our rooms.

OP posts:
OneHangryDuck · 08/02/2025 21:46

We spent £1500 for rentokill to keep rats out of our loft. They took our money, popped up some chicken wire and left defeated. We had three different experts and the council before we were rat-free. Give the handy man a chance!

NanaPurple · 08/02/2025 22:41

I would move out as soon as possible.

Original poster
Verminprobs · 08/02/2025 23:17

NanaPurple · 08/02/2025 22:41

I would move out as soon as possible.

Really?

OP posts:
NanaPurple · 08/02/2025 23:20

Absolutely. Once lived in a rented house in Manchester that has a few mine but when the rats moved in I moved out. No way would I live with rats.

NanaPurple · 08/02/2025 23:21

Mice Mice Mice, sorry not mine!!

HereNext · 09/02/2025 04:02

Rats can be a nightmare to get rid of.

Is the house terraced or detached?

Original poster
Verminprobs · 11/02/2025 21:16

HereNext · 09/02/2025 04:02

Rats can be a nightmare to get rid of.

Is the house terraced or detached?

It’s semi detached

OP posts:
HollyBerryz · 11/02/2025 21:23

I'm not sure pest control are always that great figuring out where they get in. The handy man might be more useful! Could they be getting in via cavity walls and going to the loft? It could be an issue in the drains if there's no obvious entry points in the loft.

Meltedcandlewax · 11/02/2025 21:57

NanaPurple · 08/02/2025 23:21

Mice Mice Mice, sorry not mine!!

I feel your pain. We had squirrels in our loft last year. The noise was horrendous. I dreaded going to bed at night. I got pest control in and they insisted it was mice. The amount of noise they made I knew it had to be squirrels or rats. After laying traps for the mice and no joy, they finally put cameras in the loft. Having seen the squirrel they put the right traps up and caught it. They also found the ingress points and sent me photos.

If it was rats I would have been seriously freaked out. I would find another pest control agent, they don’t sound very good. You need a large cat !

OneHangryDuck · 12/02/2025 22:04

HollyBerryz · 11/02/2025 21:23

I'm not sure pest control are always that great figuring out where they get in. The handy man might be more useful! Could they be getting in via cavity walls and going to the loft? It could be an issue in the drains if there's no obvious entry points in the loft.

It was drains for us in the end. A waste pipe running under our garden with a crack in it, close enough to the foundations for them to get up though the wall cavity.

SuperFi · 12/02/2025 22:26

Oh love, I’ve been where you are, bloody nightmare.

In our case it was a collapsed sewer pipe that was the cause. .They got out and ran up through the cavity walls to the loft. Was told by pest control the source is nearly always drain related. Your landlord needs to get a drain survey, one that specialises in pests.

If we were renting I would have moved out, you have my sympathies.

Original poster
Verminprobs · 25/02/2025 07:43

Thanks everyone. We haven’t heard them in about 10 day, so maybe dead or gone! Would you let it go, or insist the landlord address it anyway?

OP posts:
Thisiswhathings · 25/02/2025 07:47

They are probably dead but you want to make sure the holes are filled in . Did the handy man find anything?

Ariesburn · 25/02/2025 07:58

I had rats last September in my loft, they was getting in through an unused toilet drain in the foundation of the house and accessing the wall cavities to get to the loft, it was painful and I felt disgusted 🤢 I had pest control out and they put bait up there that's the best way to sort it it takes a little time but they ate it left and died off. It took a whole month or maybe longer to not heat anything up there again, I get paranoid thinking they are still there but they aren't.

ladymammalade · 25/02/2025 07:58

If they're dead someone needs to go up and clear them out or they'll stink.

We've just been away and heard scratching and footsteps running about overhead, told the homeowner and they said they get mice all the time (out in the country) but I'm convinced it was something bigger than mice 😬

Original poster
Verminprobs · 25/02/2025 08:10

Thisiswhathings · 25/02/2025 07:47

They are probably dead but you want to make sure the holes are filled in . Did the handy man find anything?

No, the handyman and my partner looked all over and came to the conclusion that the rats weren’t getting in via the garage which is what pest control had said. There was no actual evidence of it!

They’ve been up there since December. We have belongings up there, and I know the risks associated with rat urine etc

i don’t feel comfortable with my partner or I going up there to clear it out especially with 2 little ones here!

OP posts:
YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME · 25/02/2025 08:15

It's a battle on many fronts. Access needs to be dealt with, food sources removed and that means clearing compost bins and moving away from the home (pest controllers call them rodent mobile homes), looking at where things like bird feeders are and filling in holes, wire caps on gutters/ pipes, clearing the loft and not thinking one pest control visit will sort anything. Traps also needed around the outside and look at surrounding areas, as you can often see their paths in grass (they follow the same routes).

SparklyGlitterballs · 25/02/2025 08:22

Did pest control put down bait or traps for the ones already in the loft? They need dealing with or they'll just breed, and they reproduce prolifically.

I had rats and they were coming in via the sewer (found a dead one in the drain) and up through a disused and uncapped soil stack. As well as baiting the existing rats, the pest control guy put a non-return valve on the sewer pipe and capped the soil stack. Fortunately mine didn't make it to the loft, only under the floorboards. If loft, they also have to be sure it's rats and not squirrels, who get in a different way.

If you've not heard anything for 10 days, and the loft was baited, then prepare yourself for the smell that comes next, if the company hasn't been back to collect any dead vermin. That's like nothing you've smelt before 🤢 some days after the smell comes the flies....

I'd maybe try a different company. I found mine via Checkatrade.

Original poster
Verminprobs · 25/02/2025 08:31

SparklyGlitterballs · 25/02/2025 08:22

Did pest control put down bait or traps for the ones already in the loft? They need dealing with or they'll just breed, and they reproduce prolifically.

I had rats and they were coming in via the sewer (found a dead one in the drain) and up through a disused and uncapped soil stack. As well as baiting the existing rats, the pest control guy put a non-return valve on the sewer pipe and capped the soil stack. Fortunately mine didn't make it to the loft, only under the floorboards. If loft, they also have to be sure it's rats and not squirrels, who get in a different way.

If you've not heard anything for 10 days, and the loft was baited, then prepare yourself for the smell that comes next, if the company hasn't been back to collect any dead vermin. That's like nothing you've smelt before 🤢 some days after the smell comes the flies....

I'd maybe try a different company. I found mine via Checkatrade.

Yes it was bait. I read afterwards that it wasn’t the best idea!

OP posts:
Chiseltip · 25/02/2025 08:35

Yeah, I was going to say, don't put poison down to get rid of rats. You'll never know where they will end up when they die. Rats can be quite big also, having one rot inside your bedroom cieling isn't great.

Onedaynotyet · 25/02/2025 08:44

My friend was told they fear the sound of human voice and to prevent them coming back to leave a radio on up there 24/7. Don't know if it was just good luck but they didn't come back.

garlictwist · 25/02/2025 10:13

ladymammalade · 25/02/2025 07:58

If they're dead someone needs to go up and clear them out or they'll stink.

We've just been away and heard scratching and footsteps running about overhead, told the homeowner and they said they get mice all the time (out in the country) but I'm convinced it was something bigger than mice 😬

We have mice at the moment (we know as we've managed to catch a few) - but from the sound they make I could have sworn it was something bigger. They can make a right racket.

Original poster
Verminprobs · 25/02/2025 10:37

garlictwist · 25/02/2025 10:13

We have mice at the moment (we know as we've managed to catch a few) - but from the sound they make I could have sworn it was something bigger. They can make a right racket.

Show quote history

DP saw actual rat crap so definitely rats!

OP posts:
JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 25/02/2025 11:00

We've finally just got rid of rats.

90% of rats get in through drains/ sewers.

You need a drains survey. They might be able to fit a one way valve to stop them getting in that's what has solved our issue.

A decent pest control company should recommend this.

mumda · 25/02/2025 11:06

You need to get to the bottom of their access.

Usually through a broken bit of drain, then the cavity wall and into the loft.

s

this is worth a watch.

No point just killing them. Stop them coming in.