RAT INFESTATIONS VERY OFTEN STEM FROM ISSUES WITH DRAINS

Over 90% of rat infestations stem from issues with drainage. Some problems are easier to diagnose than others.

A recent customer in Milton Keynes has had issued with rats for more than 2 years. Other pest control “experts” have visited and thrown rodenticide (poison) in the loft and hoped for the best. Whilst this may kill the rats it very often leads to awful gut wrenching smells from rotting rats decomposing in cavity walls, this is why we ALWAYS use professional use traps for rat infestations in homes.

All pest technicians at iQ Pest Control after the initial inspection of the areas that rat activity has been noted, the next step is always to lift any “manhole covers” or to give it their correct term “inspection chamber covers”. We will look for the obvious rat droppings, but often debris such as gravel, stones and soil is in the chamber which is indicative of rats exiting the main sewer system and burrowing. The above photo clearly shows that rats have exploited a badly fitted plastic drain chamber and have gnawed a big enough hole to access the cavity wall of the property, this issue had been missed by the 3 previous pest control companies. In our professional use traps we have caught a very large female adult rat along with 4 juveniles. The entry point has now been rat proofed with a specialist gnaw proof material.

Milton Keynes seems to have more issues with rats than other similarly sized towns and cities around the UK. Our theory is that as a large proportion of Milton Keynes do not have wheelie bins rubbish is commonly stored in residents back gardens, sheds, garages etc until the day of the bin collection. Any accumulation of rubbish which serves as an ideal food source for all rodents is a problem waiting to happen. We always advise storing your rubbish in suitable containers such as the old traditional metal dustbins, transfer your waste to the collection point the morning of your bin day.

If you are having similar issues to our recent customer please call iQ Pest Control on 01280 811198 to find out more.