Rat Problem! Please Help

Ticklemouse

Just after we moved into this house, we got rats in the attic!! We couldn't find where they were getting in and has to resort to poisoning them, which meant we had to put up with the smell

We got them the next winter as well and my neighbour (I'm in a semi) paid for drain people to put a camera down his drains. Eventually we found the rats were clibing up a (cast iron) drainpipe and where it went through the eaves, there was a hole. They ran through the neighbours attic and lived in mine!! We would NEVER have found that point of access, so I'm not surprsed you can't find yours, especially in a row of terraces.

BTW - my local council (Ribble Valley) were ace. Came out time and time again and never charged us a penny.

(It also cost my neighbours a pretty penny in camera fees and replacing the top part of the drainpipe as rats can't climb up a plastic pipe. All we had to do was put up with two lots of dead rat smell _pale_)

champys

Ticklemouse wrote: »

which meant we had to put up with
two lots of dead rat smell _pale_)

Know what you mean! That is when those scented candles finally come in handy.............

Atalanta

We had a problem with a baby rat getting into our kitchen last summer:eek:
The local council were brilliant - I think it was the city council rather than the county council. They came out the next day ( in an unmarked van! very discreet!) - though we didn't know it was a rat at that point - we thought from the droppings we'd found that it was mice. But the man from the council said it was a baby rat and put poison down, and came back about 3 times to follow it up. The poison didn't get touched though and there was no further sign of it, so he thought it was just an odd one that had got in and gone out again....Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that this was all completely free and they were excellent, so I hope you find your local council as good.

By the way if there are any droppings you should leave them for them to see - I'd cleared up the ones I'd found so the man said at first that he couldn't say what it was or do anything without any evidence ( we hadn't actually seen it, just found a few chewed packets of rice and the droppings)...but then he moved all the kickboards and found a few more droppings which he identified.

cheerfulness4

We too had to call the council when I lived in my old house because there were rats in the gardens. They came out speedily, several times over the years, and never a penny to pay. Interestingly, now I think about it, ours were in unmarked vans, too.

sandy2_2

These days rats are a very common occurance, it is said you're never more than a few yards away from a rat. Now that a lot of communities oly have fornightly rubbish collections I expect the rat population will increase even more

troll35

Have you thought of using one of those ultrasonic gizmos that are supposed to deter them? I don't know how well they work (can they cover a whole house?) but the one in my garden seems to stop the local cats from fouling on the lawn.

Ticklemouse

troll35 wrote: »

Have you thought of using one of those ultrasonic gizmos that are supposed to deter them? I don't know how well they work (can they cover a whole house?) but the one in my garden seems to stop the local cats from fouling on the lawn.

I bought those "gizmo's" - I had 3 as i have a large house over 3 floors. They were the ones that are meant to send the virations/sounds (whatever tehy are) through the house using the wiring as transmitters. They don't work!! (well, mine didn't) Save your money and get the council out

As for scented candles - I used some cinnamon airfreshener blocks (you know, the fancy ones in pretty glass shapes they sell for xmas) Every time I smell one now it reminds me of the attic rooms and rats!! :rotfl:

basil92

troll35 wrote: »

Have you thought of using one of those ultrasonic gizmos that are supposed to deter them? I don't know how well they work (can they cover a whole house?) but the one in my garden seems to stop the local cats from fouling on the lawn.

Hi thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post. Much appreciated. I actually went and bought one of those ultrasonic thingys, it cost £14.99 so a fraction of the cost of the rat man!!! I just hope it works! I just wish id known the council would visit for free, before i paid £100 to private firm....Money i didnt have, so have had to tighten my belt for a while. I am going to phone the council on monday, to see if they will help free of charge. I just cant believe how noisy rats are, they keep me awake at night. Anyway thanks again for the advice. Will let you know how i get on

Seakay

Emphasise just how bad it is to the Council, if necessary overstate the case. They should be free but may be unwilling given the time of year, stick to your guns and insist that you want this health hazard dealing with. point out htat if they are in the walls then they are likely to damage wiring. Ask if the local population carries Weil's desease (pronouced viles's desease). Do you have children? Or any coming to stay over Christmas. Express your concerns for them.
Basically, the council has a duty of care, but you may need to be pushy to get action - it varies from place to place.

sandy2_2

There wasa time I thought we had rats in the roof space, turned out to be squirrels