Rat problem in new house

countryboy123 · 6 January 2019 at 6:38PM

Hi all,

My first post following a grim discovery. My wife and I moved into our new house in October 2018 and found out we had a mouse problem. We live trapped about 20 and moved them a good couple of miles away into a hedgerow (they were wood mice). We've now discovered that we also have rats and they are creating such a racket above our bedroom that we've moved into the spare room. They have cleverly set up home in the cavity part of a small area of flat roof so we can't get into it really.
Having had a good look around the loft there is quite a lot of bat, mouse and rat poo and when I moved some of the insulation there was bucket loads of the stuff. There were also several sonic deterrents (clearly not working very well) and a couple of old rat bait trays so it's clear that this problem existed before we bought the house.
I've just checked our HomeBuyer report - Survey and Valuation and the surveyor did access the loft and stated "My inspection of the roof spaces was restricted by the presence of timber boarding and insulation material.". If they had gone up and looked properly they would have found droppings in several places and there are a lot and some are clearly very old so I suspect they just poked their head up there. There was no ladder available when we viewed the property so we didn't check the loft but thought it'd be fine as we were having a survey (lesson learned!).
Based on other threads I've seen it sounds like I don't have any option to take up the matter with the previous owners but I might have the option of pursuing the matter with the surveyor. Can anyone offer any advice please?
I've put some traps up in the loft (baited but not set yet as I believe you have to allow the rats to get used to taking bait of them first for a few days) but having just been up and had a better look under the insulation I think the problem needs professionals so I'll be calling the council tomorrow for advice on dealing with the problem - I think we'll need to rip out the old insulation as it's full of poo and rat wee, find any entrance holes and block them up, deal with the resident rats and then re-insulate the whole loft. All of this is going to cost a pretty penny I imagine and that's money we don't really have after a recent house move :-(
Thanks in advance for any help.

Red-Squirrel_2 · 6 January 2019 at 6:45PM

Sorry but you’ve no case against the surveyor. They didn’t tell you the loft was fine or that there were no droppings, they told you they hadn’t been able to look properly and you chose not to take any further action.

davidmcn · 6 January 2019 at 6:57PM

countryboy123 wrote: »

I might have the option of pursuing the matter with the surveyor. Can anyone offer any advice please?

In which part of the survey do they make any comment on the presence or absence of mouse crap? Did you instruct them to look for it?

Winter_Phoenix · 6 January 2019 at 7:02PM

countryboy123 wrote: »

Hi all,

My first post following a grim discovery. My wife and I moved into our new house in October 2018 and found out we had a mouse problem. We live trapped about 20 and moved them a good couple of miles away into a hedgerow (they were wood mice). We've now discovered that we also have rats and they are creating such a racket above our bedroom that we've moved into the spare room. They have cleverly set up home in the cavity part of a small area of flat roof so we can't get into it really.
Having had a good look around the loft there is quite a lot of bat, mouse and rat poo and when I moved some of the insulation there was bucket loads of the stuff. There were also several sonic deterrents (clearly not working very well) and a couple of old rat bait trays so it's clear that this problem existed before we bought the house.
I've just checked our HomeBuyer report - Survey and Valuation and the surveyor did access the loft and stated "My inspection of the roof spaces was restricted by the presence of timber boarding and insulation material.". If they had gone up and looked properly they would have found droppings in several places and there are a lot and some are clearly very old so I suspect they just poked their head up there. There was no ladder available when we viewed the property so we didn't check the loft but thought it'd be fine as we were having a survey (lesson learned!).
Based on other threads I've seen it sounds like I don't have any option to take up the matter with the previous owners but I might have the option of pursuing the matter with the surveyor. Can anyone offer any advice please?
I've put some traps up in the loft (baited but not set yet as I believe you have to allow the rats to get used to taking bait of them first for a few days) but having just been up and had a better look under the insulation I think the problem needs professionals so I'll be calling the council tomorrow for advice on dealing with the problem - I think we'll need to rip out the old insulation as it's full of poo and rat wee, find any entrance holes and block them up, deal with the resident rats and then re-insulate the whole loft. All of this is going to cost a pretty penny I imagine and that's money we don't really have after a recent house move :-(
Thanks in advance for any help.

Are you absolutely sure that you have bats as well as mice/rats? Because if so, you will be extremely restricted in what you can do - they're a "protected species" and it's criminal offence to disturb them or block their access.

I sincerely hope, for your sake, that you're "only" dealing with rats here!

bobbymotors · 6 January 2019 at 9:45PM

poison them. the blue stuff on ebay is best

Barny1979 · 6 January 2019 at 9:49PM

bobbymotors wrote: »

poison them. the blue stuff on ebay is best

The smell of rotting rat carcasses and the presence of blue bottles will be great in the Summer months

Mistral001 · 6 January 2019 at 10:19PM

countryboy123 wrote: »

I've just checked our HomeBuyer report - Survey and Valuation and the surveyor did access the loft and stated "My inspection of the roof spaces was restricted by the presence of timber boarding and insulation material.". If they had gone up and looked properly they would have found droppings in several places and there are a lot and some are clearly very old so I suspect they just poked their head up there. There was no ladder available when we viewed the property so we didn't check the loft but thought it'd be fine as we were having a survey (lesson learned!).

If the boarding was not fixed down with nails or screws etc. then you might have a claim against the surveyor - in theory. It depends on the type survey, but with some, if not most surveys, the surveyor should bring a ladder with them to reach up to 3metres in case there is no access ladder available at the property. However they will not be expected to remove boards which are fixed down.

In saying that, whether a surveyor is negligent for not spotting droppings in a roof space is doubtful. They would not been expected to look for them under insulation or whatever is in the roof space at the time before the property was sold. The roof space could have been full items which the surveyor is not allowed to touch without the permission of the vendor.

So in theory, yes you might have a possible claim against your surveyor, but one with a very slender chance of being successful and if it went to court it could cost you thousands if you lost.

I would just get in the pest control experts!

bobbymotors · 6 January 2019 at 10:59PM

Barny1979 wrote: »

The smell of rotting rat carcasses and the presence of blue bottles will be great in the Summer months

it goes away soon enough.

p00hsticks · 6 January 2019 at 11:04PM

Barny1979 wrote: »

The smell of rotting rat carcasses and the presence of blue bottles will be great in the Summer months

Someone I know had rats in their attic last summer and the pest control professional who attended assured him that when they realise that they have been poisoned they will go outside and find somewhere quiet to die, and this did appear to happen.

However you then need to establish how they are getting in and out of the property and once the dying ones have left ensure that it is blocked so that no more can come in - they can get through tiny holes.

zagubov · 6 January 2019 at 11:05PM

I'm amazed you've held back from getting rid of them for so long.
Nobody else I know even hesitates before poisoning them or getting the council in to do it.

flora48 · 6 January 2019 at 11:05PM

I had a similar problem with squirrels in the loft. I used a local pest control person who came with baited traps which he removed when one had been caught. He came to check regularly as the bodies do not dry out like mouse bodies, I suspect the same could be true of rats given their size. So best not to leave bait yourself as they can go and die elsewhere.He charged £20 a head but did remove all the old insulation to make sure the problem was solved. Then I needed a roofer to check everywhere. Nightmare. Hope you get sorted.