Rats are one of the ultimate survivor species because they are natural scavengers, remarkably intelligent, highly adaptable to their surroundings and can squeeze through tiny spaces. This is what makes them one of the most successful animals on the planet and makes getting rid of them a difficult task.
What are the signs of a rat problem?
Once rats enter your home they will hide away and breed so you will soon have a major infestation. Recognising the signs early means you can eliminate the problem before it becomes severe.
Droppings A rat produces up to 40 droppings each night. They are dark and shiny and about the size and shape of an olive. You’ll find them in large groupings (see adjacent image).
Urine puddles Rat urine has a very sharp smell which you can’t miss.
Scratching Rats can climb walls so you’ll hear scratching noises behind walls, particularly at night when they’re most active.
Footprints In dusty rooms where rats have been running around you’ll see footprints or tail marks.
Gnaw marks Rats have incisors that never stop growing so they gnaw constantly to keep their teeth ground down. You’ll see gnaw marks on anything hard such as cables, concrete, wood, metal, walls, pipes, and furniture (see adjacent image of metal drain and concrete that rat has gnawed to make a hole).
Foul smell When rats live, breed, defecate, die and decompose between your walls or under your floorboards you’ll notice a foul smell.
Nesting materials Rats bunch together shredded paper, cardboard, fabric and plastic to make their nests. You’ll see shreds of the materials around their burrows which they dig into the earth and nests built in drains, around rubbish bins, in compost heaps, amongst logs, under sheds and in outbuildings (see adjacent image showing rat holes with nesting materials around the entrance).
Rats out and about during the daytime If you see rats feeding during the daytime it usually means the rat infestation is heavy. These rats are the older and weaker members of the colony, feeding at a more dangerous time to avoid the more aggressive dominant rats.
Why use a professional company to remove rats?
Urban areas provides rats with perfect living conditions: food, water and shelter. Rats are prolific breeders and the potential for exponential growth in the rat population in a very short time is massive. They breed year-round and are able to reproduce at just 10-weeks old. A female rat can live for 2-years and produces up to 6-litters each year, which can result in a total of 120-offspring. Because of this it’s important to achieve a complete kill of all the rats in a colony. A professional pest control technician understands their behaviour and knows where to place the bait throughout the site to achieve this.
Rats carry many severe, sometimes fatal diseases which they can spread to humans, normally through their urine and droppings. These include hantavirus, Weil’s disease, listeria, toxoplasma gondi and salmonella. Because of this they need to be handled carefully and disposed of safely. Rats also can cause serious structural damage to properties by chewing through electrical cables which can cause fires, water and gas pipes etc. Many instances of electrical fires and floods have been attributed to them.
Preparation you must undertake prior to treatment
- Leave any droppings or damage for the technician to look at
- Keep a record of where you see rats and ask your neighbours if they have any
- Stop feeding wild birds
- Stop putting food on your compost heap
Aftercare
To prevent future rat infestations you must identify and deal with the reasons you had an infestation in the first place. The following measures should be implemented.
- Do not feed wild birds
- Always dispose of any spilled or leftover food from feeding pets
- Always dispose of any animal droppings; do not put them on a compost heap
- Rat proof animal hutches and runs
- Store animal food in rat proof containers
- Keep rubbish bins securely closed
- Do not put food on your compost heap
- Keep a check on your compost heap to ensure it’s not providing a home for rats
- Locate and fill all access points into buildings, e.g. gaps around pipes, etc.
How our treatment works
We use the latest and most effective baits and poisons to eliminate a rat infestation. The bait is put into specially-designed feeding boxes, trays or occasionally loose and installed in the correct places throughout the site to ensure the whole population of rats feed on it. It can take up to 7-days before the rats start feeding on the bait as they are suspicious of new objects. The rats may feed several times before dying. If they do consume enough poison to give them a lethal dose on their first feed they won’t suffer any ill-effects immediately, ensuring that the other rats don’t become suspicious and associate the bait with illness or death.
We cannot accept responsibility if any rats die in places where their bodies may smell i.e. under floorboards.
We make a second visit to the site to remove the bait and any dead rats for disposal. Dead rats must be buried or burned and protective gloves and a mask must be worn whilst handling them as they carry disease.
For a low-level infestation, we recommend spraying the affected area and loft insulation with a biocidal spray.
Price for biocide treatment from £100 +VAT
10% discount for biocide treatment when we make our second visit to remove the bait and any dead rats for disposal.