Rats in gardens are a regular call for pest controllers, all to often its the home owner unwittingly providing the harbourage, water and food sources. Decking, plant pots with rain water in and bird feeders, the perfect environment for rats, however this one was slightly different.

The two bird feeders were the only ones the customer had, there was no obvious harbourage points and no water left out. Rat are known to cover large areas in search of food and the customer has been noticing activity for several weeks now but only ever one rat. Normally word would get round and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to one day see several rodents collecting up the seed spills.

The rat used the same direction on each visit, from under the firs to the feeders then back again, it would then be seen exiting the growth a good 10 meters away next to a old out house and coal bunker then disappear under the wooden door. According to the customer she dared not open the door through fear of what she would see.

The door was a entrance to a old outside WC which has been out of action for years, the space hasn’t been used for over 10 years and housed the WC and a old garden grass cutting bag only. So nowhere for the rats to nest you might think, maybe the rat had got clever and was using the toilet as a latrine, or was it a food cache..?

Neither, this room was a portal to another world, a world of the underground sewer system. As the toilet has not been used for such along time the pan had run dry, there was no water in the ‘U’ bend so effectively it was a open door to the foul drainage system. A place where water, warmth and food are in abundance, but also a entrance to our world. On exploring when arriving surface side the rat had come across yet another food supply, one it had take a fancy to and took advantage of.

Easy fix, simply fill the WC then close the lid and weight it down. It was advised that either the WC pan is kept topped up or if the toilet is no longer in action to remove it and correctly cap of the connecting pipework with a metal bung. As it would cost far more to replace the over head system and with the customer running the risk of forgetting top fill up a toilet she would never use it was decided best to remove and cap off.

No need for traps in stations or rodenticide baits placed. Simply find the source of the problem and correct it. And most importantly according to the customer, she can still feed the birds. Apparently one of life’s few remaining pleasures.

Please feel free to contact us direct for further advise or if you require a quotation for works.