The house is like a show home, you could play marbles on the lawn… everything is immaculate, yet the rats have moved in. To say that the customer is mortified is the understatement of the decade.

Prevention is better and a lot of the time cheaper than the cure… and in vermin control once you’ve ‘cured’ the problem you should set about preventing it happening again. It could be something as simple as correcting a broken air brick, blocking a hole where a pipe used to be or in this case the smallest gap at the rear of the kitchen waste gully.

Rats had taken advantage of a damaged water splash guard, gnawed away and gained entry, from here they managed full property access moving through the cavities to the loft space and then back down into the kitchen. A loft inspection showed that they had been in residence for a significant period of time without home owner realising.

As previous stated, the property owner was extremely house proud and took great care to maintain his home yet still the infestation went unnoticed. You may detest them, but you have to respect them. The common rats ability to adapt to our way of life then not only to occupy but infest our homes without us noticing has to be admired.

At Rattraxs we carry out a full and thorough site inspection not only at ground level, but to gutter height and below ground CCTV drainage surveys in a attempt to identify potential points of entry. We work to all industry standards and carry over 30 years on field experience, yet we never assume, we never say never and we approach each site visit with fresh eyes. A treatment program is worth nothing without a fully comprehensive site inspection before hand.

Please feel free to contact us direct for advise or if you would like to just ask a few questions.

Customers charging method gives easy access.

You’ve got to give them the credit they deserve. Rats really will take advantage of any given opportunity.

11.40pm last night I took a call from a customer in Oakwood, Derby who had heard noises coming from downstairs while has was in bed. To use his words “I wasn’t having any of that”…. (He looked like he could handle himself).

Armed and ready to confront the intruder he raced to the kitchen to educate the burglar on property ownership and was stopped in his tracks (again, his words) “It was the size of a bloody cat”…. **They always are**. by a rat in the cat food container. It was a sealed container but the rat had managed to gnaw through the top to gain access to the bounty.

As the customer froze, obviously disappointed not to be confronted by a human intruder the rat continued to feed from its new found treasure. When the customer moved closer the rat noticed and bolted for its point of entry. Showing no signs of confusion the rat made for the cat flap fitted in the extension wall. And it was gone, cat food and all.

This rat had obviously picked up on the scent of the food and homed in taking advantage of the fact that the customer uses the cat flap as access to feed his charging cable for his new environmentally friendly set of wheels.

As part of our attendance we always carry out a full site inspection to see if there are any other issues that we should be concerned about, places where rats could be using on a regular basis. On the side elevation of the property the customer has a plastic composter (Evidently the environmentally conscious type) this composter was bedded on the soil only, not slabs or mesh. Next to the composter there was a burrow straight under the shed.

So what looks to have started as rats either nesting in the composter or under the shed soon lead to more brash behaviour of invading a dwelling. Expanding its touring area to forage for food, and bingo, it found the cats.

The customer is now making arrangements for a more suitable charging method and we’ve started our methods of control. At the end of the treatment period it has been arranged that the composter is emptied, bedded on a more solid surface and slabs are butted up to the shed sides to stop further infestations. Prevention is always better than the cure.

It just goes to show that these rodents really do live up to their name ‘Commensal’ and will feed of mans table while hidden in plain sight.

Open access for rats to and from the sewer system.

Why do you have rats…? is there a local area problem..? Are they being encouraged by waste or rubbish..? Is it excessive bird feeding..? Or is it something hiding in plain sight..?? To the untrained eye this damaged breather vent pipe from the inspection chamber at the bottom of the garden is just a pipe sticking out of the ground. This is a doorway to another world, to the main sewer system, the undisturbed breeding ground of the common rat, AKA the sewer rat.

For months our client from Walsall, was becoming frustrated that rats were always in his garden and he was obviously concerned that they would make their way indoors. His blame for the repeated visits was blamed at the row of shops across the road, blaming them for housing the rats which would then breach his boundary every morning at around 08:00am.

Perfectly reasonable you might think, well it would be if the road wasn’t a duel carriageway with a obstructive raised central reservation, the shops were a chemist, a crafts and arts and a funeral directors, hardly the most beneficial establishments for omnivorous rodents to feed. And if i was those rats i certainly wouldn’t be risking my life on a daily basis at rush hour crossing four lanes of traffic and scaling a wall 60 times my height in daylight to get to the clients garden. after all theres nothing really in the garden for me anyway.

The other thing that becomes busier twice a day, morning and evening is the sewer system. When we get up and when we get home we use our toilets, baths, showers and sinks more. This in turn increases the flow in the main sewers and in some cases if there are obstructions in lines then the foul water may rise pushing rats into the domestic lines.

If there are areas which are open then the rats may surface. They only have to do this once or twice and they’ll form a habit and adapt, especially if they’ve taken a interest in something top side. opportunity strikes and they’ll be back again and again.

After listening to the blame game I carried out my site inspection, applied experience, knowledge and followed the obvious to the naked eye rat run straight to the damaged vent pipe. Upon lifting the inspection chamber lid the benching was covered in rat droppings. Here was my source.

Now admittedly it isn’t the prettiest bit of cosmetic proofing works I have ever done but it serves a purpose and is well of view where it is located. More importantly there are no longer rats running around the customers garden. No need for external bait points, poison or traps, no repeat visits and extra charges. Just find the source and correct it.

The customer still blamed the wool shop but has admitted that he hasn’t seen a rat since my attendance… strange that ain’t it..?? Well, if it makes him feel better who am I to argue.?

At Rattraxs Pest Control we hold over 30 years of industry knowledge in Pest Control but also Drainage. Rats and Drains are closely linked in many cases. If you suspect you have a rodent problem sometime a CCTV survey or drain inspection is required, we can provide all inspection services and control methods. Feel free to contact us direct for more information.