Discussion
For a while now both I and next door have had rats/mice in the attic. It’s been a mystery how they get in.
Today whilst fitting insulation in the loft I found that the en suite soil pipe isn’t connected to the roof vent…effectively it’s completely open in the loft.
There are what looks like rat droppings around it.
My question is… could a rat really climb up inside 2 stories of soil pipe, vertically? If the answer is yes I might need to pop a Durgo on top of the pipe.
Today whilst fitting insulation in the loft I found that the en suite soil pipe isn’t connected to the roof vent…effectively it’s completely open in the loft.
There are what looks like rat droppings around it.
My question is… could a rat really climb up inside 2 stories of soil pipe, vertically? If the answer is yes I might need to pop a Durgo on top of the pipe.
Find & lift the covers on the drains on your property to find the main outlets from your house into the sewers & see if there are droppings.
They can certainly get into toilets from the foul drain - neighbours over the road had that problem in their downstairs toilet.
Had one of the one-way anti backflow/rat blocking devices flap devices fitted & haven't had any problems since.
They can certainly get into toilets from the foul drain - neighbours over the road had that problem in their downstairs toilet.
Had one of the one-way anti backflow/rat blocking devices flap devices fitted & haven't had any problems since.
How do you know it's rats and not a squirrel?
I ask because I'm getting a lot of scratching noises in my loft and then bonging noises like something is banging the pipes with a metal rod!
It always happens in the early hours of the morning and lasts about 10-15 minutes then stops. I've never heard it duiring the day, but probably because i'm not in the bedroom much then.
Does this sound like a rat or squirrel (or both)?!
I ask because I'm getting a lot of scratching noises in my loft and then bonging noises like something is banging the pipes with a metal rod!
It always happens in the early hours of the morning and lasts about 10-15 minutes then stops. I've never heard it duiring the day, but probably because i'm not in the bedroom much then.
Does this sound like a rat or squirrel (or both)?!
Ive had a pigeon nesting in my loft, it sounded identical to the rat I'd had previously (rat confirmed by my wife seeing it - despite the volume of the scream it didn't get scared away).
My one piece of advice is don't poison the rat, if it dies under the floor boards/in the wall spaces you'll find out why. The smell is indescribable and lasts until it has rotted/mummified
My one piece of advice is don't poison the rat, if it dies under the floor boards/in the wall spaces you'll find out why. The smell is indescribable and lasts until it has rotted/mummified
Tom8 said:
Agree with leaving it. Rats are nomadic so it/they will move on. Because they are quite big they do take a while to rot and so can become very stinky.
Really? We had a huge family happily living under the neighbours shed when they kept chickens as they ate the food. When they demolished the shed as it was rotten around 35 rats departed to live elsewhere, under our cabin, climbing the rose bush to live in the porch above the downstairs loo, in neighbours garages etc. They never left. Some got poisoned, but with dogs, we couldn't use that and they were too bright for the traps. We ended up shooting them with air rifles.We also had mice in the loft, climbed up the ivy on the outside of the house so all that was taken down. Milky way in traps is especially effective.
Those traps are now in my garage as a protective deterrent for those trying to chew the wiring on my TVR
river_rat said:
How do you know it's rats and not a squirrel?
I ask because I'm getting a lot of scratching noises in my loft and then bonging noises like something is banging the pipes with a metal rod!
It always happens in the early hours of the morning and lasts about 10-15 minutes then stops. I've never heard it duiring the day, but probably because i'm not in the bedroom much then.
Does this sound like a rat or squirrel (or both)?!
From memory, different shaped poo. And squirrel poo tastes nutty, apparently. I ask because I'm getting a lot of scratching noises in my loft and then bonging noises like something is banging the pipes with a metal rod!
It always happens in the early hours of the morning and lasts about 10-15 minutes then stops. I've never heard it duiring the day, but probably because i'm not in the bedroom much then.
Does this sound like a rat or squirrel (or both)?!
Tom8 said:
Agree with leaving it. Rats are nomadic so it/they will move on. Because they are quite big they do take a while to rot and so can become very stinky.
A friend of mine found one in his barn conversion with its teeth still embedded in the electrical cable, so they are a risk. The pest controller identified the soil pipe as the likely point of entry for the rats in my loft. They were noisy at night, from dusk on fwiw. I wouldn't go down the route of poison again. They're supposed to exit in search of water, but as has been said, they stink for about a week if they don't leave. And as last Spring was warm, then the flies started, which peaked at about 200 in my bathroom one day.
None this year, didn't know they were nomadic, although there's a resident fox in the garden.
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