Rats can be a really distressing problem, and if you see rats in your garden or even see a rat in your house there’s a good chance there are more rats living nearby – rats generally live in family groups so we always say if you see one rat its highly likely there are more.
It is common to notice signs of rats before you actually see them. Often you will hear rats in your loft at night or sometimes scratching noises in wall cavities. Chewed wiring is also a common sign that rats have moved in, and you might notice gnaw marks on wood or metal. Droppings as well as rodent ‘pathways’ to rat holes in the ground are a clear sign that rats are nesting in your garden. Other common places to find rats nesting are under garden decking, in drains, wall cavities and in attics.
It’s worth remembering that although rats will generally ignore you and leave you alone, they do carry diseases, some of which can be fatal, so sharing your space with wild rats is not advisable.
If you think you have a rat infestation, you need to know why – where have the rats come from and what’s attracted them in the first place? Sometimes it’s simply because you or your neighbour enjoy feeding the birds and the bird seed is an easy rat food source. It can be because there’s a structural fault in your drains that needs fixing and rats are using the local drainage system to travel. Whatever the reason it’s worth knowing why you have a rat infestation so you can take steps to prevent it recurring.
Once you know why the rats are there, it’s useful to know the size of the rat infestation – are there a few rats in the early stages of becoming established or is it a more long-term situation? It’s also worth knowing exactly where the rats are nesting and the pathways the rats are using to travel around your home and garden.
Our pest control technicians complete a survey before starting any rat pest control program, which will answer these questions. It also enables us to get on top of the rat infestation as quickly as possible so that we can get rid of the rats efficiently in fewer visits. After the initial survey our technicians start the rat pest control program the same day and return 7-10 days later to re-survey. Hopefully that’s the end of it however if the rat problem is severe, it may take additional visits before the rats have gone completely.
The rat pest control service we offer is highly effective as we use licensed products that are only available through professional pest control services. Resistance to some off the shelf rat baits can mean that trying to get rid of rats yourself just prolongs the problem, it can be much easier and cheaper to employ professional pest control in the first instance.
After any rat pest control program, it’s worth discussing with our technician any steps you can take to stop rats coming back, as prevention is definitely best in this situation. They will be able to advise on any action you can take to discourage rats returning.
