Rodent Infestation Yikes!!

[johhnn]

Hi And thanks for reading.
I have a few rats running around in my wall cavaties and in the loft.
Did a search and found that people were filling up entrance points into their homes using expanding foam to prevent the rodents from entering.
I did the same and it really has helped, but now they are chewing through the expanding foam and getting back in.
I examined the dried foam and it is not very strong.
Do you know of anything i can use to fill up the entrance points, something tougher than foam.
The way i did it, is to drill holes in the skirting boards then inject the expanding foam in. That blocked their access points and they stopped coming in
Many thanks

 

[Haze]

Try killing them....

 

[Armageus]

Fine wire mesh or steel wool then fill with foam.

Bigger issue as above is dealing with the rats that are already inside

 

[Participant]

We had good success with rodent poison in our garden. We watched them trot out and snaffle the bait then a couple of days later they stopped appearing and we've not seen any for weeks.

I guess if they're in your walls then you don't want them dying in there though!

 

[psd99]

they are incredible horrible but glue traps in the right places are a great win esp as:

a. the rodent will be dead and b. you'll know where to find it

poison is a good shout but the drawback is you'll never know where the pest is and it'll smell like crap

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

I wouldnt be using poison tbh atrocious smell
Also of they get out and other animals eat them they end up seriously ill as well.

Human traps are they way to go just drop them at a park or forest when youve caught a few.

 

[UnworthyBean]

Human traps are they way to go just drop them at a park or forest when youve caught a few.

There's probably a few people that deserve trapping but not sure how that's going to help with the rat problem?

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

oops hahahha

 

[Nathan]

Proper rat traps. Poison is bad for other animals, especially birds of prey like owls

 

[a1ex2001]

I wouldnt be using poison tbh atrocious smell
Also of they get out and other animals eat them they end up seriously ill as well.

Human traps are they way to go just drop them at a park or forest when youve caught a few.

Why release them in a local park so they can find there way back into someone else's house? If your going to trap them at least get decent traps and kill them.

 

[DarrenM343]

I recommend using a pest controller. Can try the council or a private company who may respond more quickly. I had a problem with them going into winter towards the end of 2020, well, that's when it became noticeable anyway. The lockdowns caused rats to start looking elsewhere for grub so has been a more common problem over the last few years.
I paid I think £140 or 160 for three visits. Pest controllers have access to poisons not available to the general public and a lot of the off the shelf stuff might not work now as they've formed resistance.
How are they getting in? (what are the access points?).
Rats only stay where food is available. Unfortunately it can be anywhere in the local area however but you can check to make sure not leaving any food outside your property at least, inc bird seed etc.
If rats cannot feed in the local area, they'll move on, so I'm told. BUt of course could be romping off down the road to a takeaway leaving rubbish outside and then back to your home for sleeping/nesting.

Using poisons may not result in them dying in the walls. I think it makes them really thirsty so they will go out for drinkies and then hopefully keel over. Poisons were used at my house and I never had anything die under the house or in the walls. No smells anyway.
Traps are better/more humane but can't always be used - but will work in the loft. However, again, pest contollers will know where to put these, need to be along the runs I think. Rats don't like anything new in the environment so if you just place some traps in the loft and expect them to be dead the next day that may not be the case. They'll avoid them, possibly, at least for a while.

Being a new build the issue I had was around a sewage pipe leaving the property, not helped I think by the surface outside the house being stone chippings. Being a new build the pipe wasn't sealed fully around to allow for some ground movement/settling. So they had got under the house by burrowing around that pipe. However, I might have caused it a while earlier when I pulled up a weed one day growing out of the gravel and some of the render came away above the pipe. Working away I filled the hole a few weeks later but I think by then something had already gone in and then used borrows afterwards under the gravel so was undetected for a while. Eventually one day I found some holes in the gravel where they must have decided to burrow straight up.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000YPTFRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the one I used, did very well.

Caught a couple the first night, then the next coupla days caught about 6, one very fat one.
Put them all in a big plastic storage box (stuck holes in top) gave em food and papers to sleep in.
Waited a coupla days to see if any more, none so took them to a forest n dumped them at the bottom of a tree.

There was far more than 6 tho! Loada little pinkies

 

[Kill_Phil]

Wirewool to block the holes up

 

[darael]

they are incredible horrible but glue traps in the right places are a great win esp as:

a. the rodent will be dead and b. you'll know where to find it

poison is a good shout but the drawback is you'll never know where the pest is and it'll smell like crap

Although glue traps are somehow still legal in the UK, I would never use one just because of how cruel these traps are to whatever animal is trapped on them.

https://www.peta.org.uk/action/see-someone-selling-using-glue-traps/

 

[DarrenM343]

Wirewool to block the holes up

Need to deal with them first I think. I've used some wirewool and also mesh elsewhere (Roshield Rodent Proofing Wire Metal Mesh on Amazon) including to stop possible entry points to garden but also had any gaps bricked/cemented up, such as around any pipework, but this was all done after clearing the property of any rat activity. With the building itself I'd recommend having gaps sealed permanently with building materials

 

[happy_2008]

You will need to use strong steel wool to cover up the holes, the expanding foam will do nothing.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Why release them in a local park so they can find there way back into someone else's house? If your going to trap them at least get decent traps and kill them.

Killing them serves what purpose?

I let them loose in a forest *shrug* I wouldn't be letting them loose on a field next to someones hoose lol.
I always believed they may be able to find their way back so drove a few miles first haha

Although glue traps are somehow still legal in the UK, I would never use one just because of how cruel these traps are to whatever animal is trapped on them.

https://www.peta.org.uk/action/see-someone-selling-using-glue-traps/

Aye missed this nasty ******** things them like


The one I linked above I filled with peanut butter, chocolate and some bird seed
They had a temporary stay in my big plastic hotel, then get to live their lives in the forest

 

[IvanDobskey]

I had a mouse infestation recently. Bird food in the garage attracted them in and they got in through some holes and set up nests in the loft.

Would never use glue traps or poison, causes a horrible slow death

Got a load of Victor snap traps with peanut butter bait. Soon caught all 12 of the little blighters. Although the last one had gotten a bit wise to the traps and kept licking the bait off without triggering the traps

Filled all the holes in the garage now, so hopefully won't get any more furry visitors..

 

[Rroff]

We get a fair few around here - but being a rural area around farms most of the neighbours have a few cats which roam around freely and mostly deal with the problem, mostly. Still get the odd mouse that makes its way to the loft.

 

[gc123]

the other thing is toughened glass after it has shattered mixed into the cement , it works because the rats teeth get ground down trying to get through and then they give up used it a few years ago after a builder suggested it worked great.