Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

nicka99

just to give an update on my saga (see post 23-09-2011, 10:18) in case its a help to anyone...

its 13 days now since the last drainage work and so far so good (but Im still crossing everything I can). Ive not heard any of the familiar 'ratty' noises since then and no traps are sprung or more poison taken in the attic.

The latest drain repair consisted of putting a liner through from one side to the other (inlet to outlet) of a manhole that the previous bodger builder/owner had built an extension straight over ! without dismantling the wall we'll never know but the manhole had a cavity wall built over half of it and my suspicions are that the cover of the manhole was compromised either during the building or sometime after such that a hole opened straight from the manhole into the cavity wall. needless to say a curious rat wouldnt take long to find such a hole and therafter have an invisible route to return from sewer to house with all his ratty friends at will.

so my advice is, if you have a rat problem and no obvious way in can be found, have a drain survey ! the survey and subsequent works (3 days for 2 men) have been covered under our buildings insurance but we have to pay the £500 excess (and no doubt price hikes next year).

I just hope this is the end of it !

victoria_stiles

Rats can be more than annoying. They are a disease-spreading type of rodent that may also cause great damage to property. you can contact a pest control company to arrange an inspection and discuss rodent control strategies.

mrsr

Hi
I'm hoping there maybe somebody out there who could help.
To cut a very long story short,next door had a problem with there drains which was causing rats in both are houses.The drain was repaired 6wks ago and i have also had mine checked,the problem is we are still hearing them the drain company came out again and rechecked.They have told us Rats can live off one anouther for sometime if they were trapped up there.My point is there would have had to have been a lot traped in the first place for them to still be surviving and when we had that really hot spell i didn't hear a thing and i cant see how they would have survived with out water.Also i am hearing them first this time which makes me think there now getting in through mine some where .Does any body have any knowledge on how long they could survive if they had been trapped ,i'm sure it wouldnt have been many,we hadn't got to the point of being over run.

Lotus-eater

mrsr wrote: »

Hi
I'm hoping there maybe somebody out there who could help.
To cut a very long story short,next door had a problem with there drains which was causing rats in both are houses.The drain was repaired 6wks ago and i have also had mine checked,the problem is we are still hearing them the drain company came out again and rechecked.They have told us Rats can live off one anouther for sometime if they were trapped up there.My point is there would have had to have been a lot traped in the first place for them to still be surviving and when we had that really hot spell i didn't hear a thing and i cant see how they would have survived with out water.Also i am hearing them first this time which makes me think there now getting in through mine some where .Does any body have any knowledge on how long they could survive if they had been trapped ,i'm sure it wouldnt have been many,we hadn't got to the point of being over run.

They will be able to survive in there for weeks. Without any other food but each other and without water. But they would have water, it being a drain, one would assume.
So, even longer then.

nicka99

mrsr wrote: »

Hi
I'm hoping there maybe somebody out there who could help.
To cut a very long story short,next door had a problem with there drains which was causing rats in both are houses.The drain was repaired 6wks ago and i have also had mine checked,the problem is we are still hearing them the drain company came out again and rechecked.They have told us Rats can live off one anouther for sometime if they were trapped up there.My point is there would have had to have been a lot traped in the first place for them to still be surviving and when we had that really hot spell i didn't hear a thing and i cant see how they would have survived with out water.Also i am hearing them first this time which makes me think there now getting in through mine some where .Does any body have any knowledge on how long they could survive if they had been trapped ,i'm sure it wouldnt have been many,we hadn't got to the point of being over run.

I presume you mean you hear them in the house rather than the drain ?? did the drain company find a genuine problem that they concluded was 100% the cause or is it possible there is still some other way in/out ? we only had 1 to my knowledge that was stuck on the inside after a drain repair and that was killed by a trap within 4 days - probably it got so hungry it decided to risk it !

where do you hear them ? do you have poison or traps down ? is there any food source other than poison and bait in traps (and each other!!) ? there shouldnt be any water source for rats in your property unless you have a leaky pipe somewhere so I cant see how they can survive for long unless there is still another route in and out.

mrsr

nicka99 wrote: »

I presume you mean you hear them in the house rather than the drain ?? did the drain company find a genuine problem that they concluded was 100% the cause or is it possible there is still some other way in/out ? we only had 1 to my knowledge that was stuck on the inside after a drain repair and that was killed by a trap within 4 days - probably it got so hungry it decided to risk it !

where do you hear them ? do you have poison or traps down ? is there any food source other than poison and bait in traps (and each other!!) ? there shouldnt be any water source for rats in your property unless you have a leaky pipe somewhere so I cant see how they can survive for long unless there is still another route in and out.

I hear them in the loft ,there's poisin up there.but no other food source or water.The drain people were a 100% sure they had found the soure ,it was from a old pipe that had a break they could see where it had been nibbeled and all the other signs.Next door has checked all round the outside of the houses for any other opening but found nothing.

Lotus-eater

I thought the rats were trapped in a drain!

Rats are not going to be trapped in a loft, there are probably plenty of ways for them to get out, but they only need one tiny hole.

You need to sort them out. If there's poison from a commercial company, then they should advise you. If it's your own poison, tell me more, are they eating it?

nicka99

sounds to me like there is still another way in. I suggest you get a professional pest control company to do a proper survey of your properties for any potential ways in (other than the drains).
this is not necessarily just at ground level e.g. do you have any climbing plants, fences abutting the property that allow access to low roofs etc. also check the gardens for runs and nests.

I suggest they use 'UV tracing powder' to track the route they take in and out of the attic. you wont get this service from your local council or rentokil but a more specialist independent controller.

They can also put down poison and traps to get rid of the current infestation but without finding the way in its more than likely a new bunch will take their place sooner or later.

it will need a combined effort by you and the neighbour.

having lived with a similar problem for 2 years I speak from personal experience - despite hearing nothing now for almost a month I wont consider our problem 'solved' for another year or so without return.

good luck

mrsr

Thank you both for taking the time to reply.I now think there not trapped and i have a problem.As i said previously this is along story,next door but one was left to me by my mother the problem went on there for 4 years so i know how horrendos it can be,The problem there turned out to be next door the other side,as soon as that was sorted next door to me and myself started hearing them and again in my mums house and that turned out to be next doors to mes drain which i have mentioned,gets complcated dosn't it.We paid out a small fortune rentokill charged 2.000 two clear the lofts in my mothers and next door to hers.Mums side wasn't to bad but the nieghbours was truelly awfull full of dead bodys nests of dead babies they said it was one of the worst they have ever seen.I dread the thoughts of ending up with things as bad as that,it's so wierd i have lived here for 30 years and never had a prob but now my mothers house is sorted i now have a prob :eek:.really quite worried about it now

Lotus-eater

Have you tried ringing the council's pest dept?