Bristol Rat Control

Why Are Rats In Your Wall Cavities?

Rats are present in your wall cavities because your home is now theirs. The question that needs to be asked here is "Where Have The Rats In My Wall Come From?".

The rats are likely getting into your wall and ceiling cavities via the following routes:

Rats Via Shallow Utilities

This is the point at which the drains and utilities leave the building under and through the wall of the property. Issues of this kind are seen most often in buildings and extensions constructed in the last twenty years.

In older buildings, it's more common to see soil pipes externally, but newer construction projects have them below ground due to better design and aesthetics.

The correct depth for these should be around 12 inches below ground level, but increasingly we see these points at ground level where rats quickly enter and populate the underfloor areas and cavities of the house.

Even if you have concrete floors, the earth beneath the floor will dry and subside by a few inches, creating the perfect nesting point for rats which can then eat through underfloor heating systems and other plastic water service pipes, etc.

Rats Via Faulty or Disused Drains

It's unsurprising that more than 80% of rat problems in homes and businesses originate from the drains.

In most cases, rats from your drains are closely associated with a new extension or other building improvements and related re-engineering or modification of existing drains.

It is common to find open drains and even inspection chambers under extensions that allow rats unrestricted access into your property, and we can quickly solve this.

The first step is a rat ingress survey of the drains with CCTV.

Rats Via Overhanging Trees, Hedges or Climbing Vegetation

Rats and other rodents will quickly climb along telephone wires, jump from overhanging branches and climb up climbing plants directly onto your roof.

From your roof, rats quickly make themselves at home in the tight roof spaces of extensions and loft spaces of the main building.

Access into your loft under tiles or through damaged, rotten or missing fascia and soffit boards are simple.

Other Points Of Rat Entry Include:

Via the neighbours - in linked properties, through underfloor cavities, lofts and linked gutters.

Via open doors, windows and presents from your cat! - sometimes it will be a single rat, and no infestation exists.

Via Cellars and underfloor storage rooms.

Can Rats Come Through The Ceiling?

Yes! Rats can quickly chew through a ceiling and fall into a room, although we have only seen this three times in 11 years.

From what we have seen, the rats inadvertently fall through a hole in a ceiling and then cannot get back. The rat is then desperately running around the house until it gets caught, killed or escapes.

A desperate rat trapped inside a building will quickly cause damage, so control needs to be swift and efficient.

Your local Bristol pest control specialists provide you with solutions for every pest problem.