Do I Have Rats?

Drain surveys, prevent rats from sneaking in!

When you cannot find how rats are getting into your property then 90% off the time it will be a drain issue. This property had a rat problem in Poole for a long time. We asked them to get a drain survey weeks ago, they finally had it surveyed and this is what they found. The rats were coming up from the main sewer into the outlet waste which was broken under the property and up the cavity walls that were insulated and nested in the roof space. The drain has now been repaired so they won’t get any more rats from the drains.

We use Maintain Drains from Poole.

Ratwall – Drainage systems to keep rats out of your pipes

We are now fitting Ratwalls, a low cost, effective solution for drainage systems in clay, PVC and cast iron materials.

Rats and other rodents cause damage to your drainage and plumbing and will enter your home via a toilet if left unchecked. They are most determined during winter when they’re seeking warmth and food.

The Ratwall is suitable for 4 inch and 6 inch drains. It’s configurable for inlets or outlets and doesn’t restrict drainage flow.

The builders made off without capping off?

Imagine finally getting the extension of your dreams, but the change to your home is allowing rats in!

Rats have been gaining access to this Dorset property through the drains. The property has had an extension, but the builders never capped off the old four inch toilet waste pipe. We have installed a stainless steel one way ratwall. The rats can go out of the property but not get back in.

Living with a rat problem for over 10 years

Imagine living with an intermittent rat problem for over ten years? From time to time, the faint sounds of scratching, gnawing and scurrying, in the cavity walls and elsewhere.

Poole based Mr & Mrs X hadn’t been sure how the pests had been getting in … but wondered if they should have been closing their doors more carefully.

I don’t rule anything out till I’ve examined a property carefully. Nevertheless cracks and faults in drains are the first place I like to look.

I asked if I could lift the nearest manhole cover – “you don’t need to worry, it’s all clean down there” I was told. But after politely insisting, I too a look.

So, what I found down there were sweet wrappers and an parts of an old plastic shopping bag. Sure signs that ratty was dragging his trophies through the drain system. There was also a quantity of gravel, which indicates burrowing.

Fortunately, it’s easy to keep rats from entering your property via the drains. We installed a “Ratwall“,  a low cost door which can be fitted to drains, and keeps rats out while permitting drainage normal flow.

Mr X wrote us this 10/10 review on CheckaTrade:

“Identify where rats were entering properly – advice on how to prevent in future – fitted one way rat flap. Superb service.”

No one thought to do a drain survey?

A while back I was called out to an address in Bournemouth, which had a rat problem in the loft space. Two other pest controllers had visited in the last couple of years, but in each case they’d put down a rodenticide and left. After each visit the householder had duly discovered rats dead in his loft. Poison works! But only until the next time.

Any decent pest controller asks himself “How are they getting in”?

No one had thought to do a drain survey!

I took a look at the main manhole for the property. It was clean as a whistle down there, fifty years old, but well made, dating back to a time when builders used to be proper builders.

But we found a second manhole in the garden showing clear evidence of rodents. We installed a “Ratwall“,  a sort of ratflap which can be fitted to drains, and keeps out rodents while permitting drainage normal flow, whether in or out.

Last week the householder literally rang me up to say he was “properly rat free, for the first time in 2 years“.

Anti rat air bricks

Are your air bricks an easy target for rodents?

It is quite common for rats and mice to gnaw through plastic air bricks. When we replace them we use brick air bricks installed with sand and cement. Don’t let the rodents get in.

Rats and mice are up 19% according to this morning’s Daily Mirror. The increase is down to a number of factors including:

• mild winter weather
• growing resistance to conventional poisons
• less frequent bin collections & increased fly tipping
• fewer predators

 

Loft infestation of rats

Well, take a look at what a well established rat infestation looks like.

You can clearly see the rodent damage and evidence of their rat runs in the loft space of this Bournemouth property: