Rats and insulation

Aghhhhhhh

I had rats in my loft and they made a huge mess of the insulation. This has now been removed but I'm not sure what is the best course of action. They seem to be running along the soffits possibly coming in at the corners both on the end of my home or from next door. But they could get in under the tiles. Has anyone had this issue? 

On researching and seeking advice there are things that I can do but it seems that no matter what you do rats will inevitably find a way in if they want to.

I am worried I am going to spend a lot of money proofing and still have the problem down the line especially at a time where life is getting extremely expensive and we don't know where that is going. 

Is there any loft insulation that would be less inviting to rats? I thought maybe a fixed style board instead of fibre, if so what thickness would it need to be to meet the legal requirement? I have seen the silver foil insulation but you would need an airspace which I guess could be accessed by the rat. 

I'm looking at getting eaves guard fitted along with having mesh inside the loft towards the eaves and a drain valve. Will this be enough to keep them at bay?

Thank you. 

FreeBear

Don't waste your money on the quilted foil stuff. Despite the manufacturers claims, real world feedback says it is pretty ineffective. Rigid PUR/PIR (Celotex type) fitted between the ceiling joists would work - You'd need ~150mm to reach the recommended target.

tacpot12

I don't think it is enevitable that rats will be able to get it, providing you proof the house with strong materials. Capping the inside of the sofits with a stainless steel mesh like this Stainless woven 4 mesh: 5.15mm aperture (robinsonwirecloth.co.uk) would be a start. 

Any holes or spaces between your house and next doors need to be filled with either this mesh or bricks and mortar, but you need to be careful about completely filling any gaps that are needed for ventilation, like the eaves, or between rafters. Use mesh in these areas. 

Whatever you do, I would set traps in the loft and monitor the situation for four weeks to see if any rats are still getting in, before reinstating the insulation. 

PUR/PIR is not as attractive to rats as they cannot nest in it, but they will eat it anyway. 

This webpage provides further advice: Does Rodent Resistant Insulation Exist? | Attic Construction

RedFraggle

They will more likely entering at ground level and going up through the cavity wall I assume you have than entering at roof level. Unless there is anything in particular that makes roof access likely. I'd focus first on ensuring and access points (gaps round pipes and flues, broken air bricks etc.) are adequately closed off first. 

Plasticman

I've had this twice. Once was the result of a hole in the brickwork under the ground and the second was a broken air brick in the house next door (semi-detached and a shared cavity wall). In both cases they came into the wall cavity and worked their way up into the loft. Fixing the holes was the only way we solved it. 

inkydolphin

Plasticman said:

I've had this twice. Once was the result of a hole in the brickwork under the ground and the second was a broken air brick in the house next door (semi-detached and a shared cavity wall). In both cases they came into the wall cavity and worked their way up into the loft. Fixing the holes was the only way we solved it. 

Was it a pest control company that sorted it out? It sounds like something that could be very difficult and costly to get to the bottom of.

Having a terrible time with rats in the loft. Metal grills (like mini toast racks) have been put in all the gaps between the tiles and the gutter and traps in the loft all to no avail after nearly a month. Pest controller is putting the traps on top of the insulation.

It sounds like the tiles/gutter is where the access is as you sometimes hear a scrabbling on the ceiling followed by what sounds like a rat squeezing through and then no sound. And vice versa - a scrabbling in the gutter followed by scrabbling on the ceiling.

Where the metal grills are I can still fit a piece of 20mm pipe through some of the gaps at the edges. Pest controller says a rat wouldn't get through that but I'm not so sure. Have bought a waterproof security camera to put in the gutter to try and get some idea if this is the case.

I'm at my wits' end, losing nights of sleep because of the noise and worrying about the damage they are causing. Not even bothering to go to bed tonight. I'm not capable of sorting it myself as I'm disabled. I hope it gets sorted soon. Rant over...

inkydolphin

Aghhhhhhh said:

I had rats in my loft and they made a huge mess of the insulation. This has now been removed but I'm not sure what is the best course of action. They seem to be running along the soffits possibly coming in at the corners both on the end of my home or from next door. But they could get in under the tiles. Has anyone had this issue? 

On researching and seeking advice there are things that I can do but it seems that no matter what you do rats will inevitably find a way in if they want to.

I am worried I am going to spend a lot of money proofing and still have the problem down the line especially at a time where life is getting extremely expensive and we don't know where that is going. 

Is there any loft insulation that would be less inviting to rats? I thought maybe a fixed style board instead of fibre, if so what thickness would it need to be to meet the legal requirement? I have seen the silver foil insulation but you would need an airspace which I guess could be accessed by the rat. 

I'm looking at getting eaves guard fitted along with having mesh inside the loft towards the eaves and a drain valve. Will this be enough to keep them at bay?

Thank you. 

Have you managed to get anywhere with your rats? 

Plasticman

inkydolphin said:

Plasticman said:

I've had this twice. Once was the result of a hole in the brickwork under the ground and the second was a broken air brick in the house next door (semi-detached and a shared cavity wall). In both cases they came into the wall cavity and worked their way up into the loft. Fixing the holes was the only way we solved it. 

Was it a pest control company that sorted it out? It sounds like something that could be very difficult and costly to get to the bottom of.

Having a terrible time with rats in the loft. Metal grills (like mini toast racks) have been put in all the gaps between the tiles and the gutter and traps in the loft all to no avail after nearly a month. Pest controller is putting the traps on top of the insulation.

It sounds like the tiles/gutter is where the access is as you sometimes hear a scrabbling on the ceiling followed by what sounds like a rat squeezing through and then no sound. And vice versa - a scrabbling in the gutter followed by scrabbling on the ceiling.

Where the metal grills are I can still fit a piece of 20mm pipe through some of the gaps at the edges. Pest controller says a rat wouldn't get through that but I'm not so sure. Have bought a waterproof security camera to put in the gutter to try and get some idea if this is the case.

I'm at my wits' end, losing nights of sleep because of the noise and worrying about the damage they are causing. Not even bothering to go to bed tonight. I'm not capable of sorting it myself as I'm disabled. I hope it gets sorted soon. Rant over...

No, I found the entry point and blocked it rather than the pest control people. They might be coming in near the gutter but both times with mine they were coming through holes much lower down then climbing up the wall cavity.

Hope it gets sorted for you.