How to rat-proof your home NOW ahead of winter invasion & the five common garden mistakes that attract the pests
THERE’s a chill in the air and winter is coming, with the mercury set to plummet over the next few weeks.
But the colder weather could mean your warm home invites some unwelcomes guests – rats.
Last week, rat-catcher Kieran Sampler, from Wakefield, revealed one of his unlucky customers found a dead rat floating in her toilet after feeling its carcass brush against her skin when she sat on the loo.
Kieran, 30, who has a rat body count of around 65,000, explained: “The rat has gone up another line of the drain and has come up into the toilet – while a woman was on the toilet.
“She was screaming – imagine being on the toilet and something brushes against you.”
Kieran says rats invading our homes has become more common and he has found them living in the slats of someone’s bed and hiding in a bedside drawer.
Keiran said: “This winter is going to be bad, I’m already getting farmers ringing me up two months in advance.”
A study earlier this year found that rats now outnumber people two-to-one in Britain for the first time with the soaring population of the rodents exceeding 150m.
Pest expert Mark Moseley, founder of Pest Gone Environmental, says the incident in Yorkshire isn’t as rare as we might hope.
The former Apprentice star says the toilet system is the most common way for rats to enter your home.
“Your toilet is linked to the sewer system where the rats live,” explains Mark. “The rat might run to the back of your toilet and sit there but there is water in the U-bend.
“Rats don’t usually like submerging themselves in water, so unless another rat is there trying to chase it and eat it, it will stay put. I probably only see this once every six months or so.
“But if you turn all the water off and flush the toilets there will be dry lines so you would notice all the rats coming out of the toilets.
“We saw it a lot in the pandemic when clubs and pubs switched their water off.
“Trades would go in and flush the toilets and we were getting rats all over these buildings.”
Pandemic boom
Mark believes the pandemic was also responsible for the explosion of the rat population as when city centre bars and restaurants were forced to close, rats fled to the country for a new food source.
But now life has returned to the towns and cities, the rodent population has boomed to even greater numbers.
“Rats are always prevalent in our towns and cities, where there is a big build-up of people there is going to be a lot of food waste, food coming into that location so that is where the rats are going to try and nest.
“The saying you are never more than seven feet away from a rat is true in our cities because they are under our feet in our sewer systems where they nest and travel from A to B.
“When the pandemic hit all the restaurants shut down, so there was no food waste, no food coming into the cities,” Mark explains.
“So all the rats pushed out to the suburban areas and they started feeding from squirrel feeders, bird feeders, fruit trees, people’s waste.
“But when everything reopened, the rats stayed in suburban areas and then we got rats returning to our cities. So we doubled our rat population just because the rats got used to greenery and feeding from people’s gardens.”
The former Apprentice star says his company is called to around 20 rat incidents each day in London where rats have made their way into people’s homes.
When females get pregnant they won’t give birth near male rats, who see the babies as a food source and a threat to their territory, so will kill them.
So the pregnant rats try and find somewhere safe to give birth – like underneath a floor cavity – and keep their young safe there until they are big enough to fend for themselves.
The rats need to feed so they either go back into the sewer systems to eat or into people’s gardens.
Rat-proof your drains
Mark says there are lots of ways you can rat-proof your homes and prevent them making their way from your sewers or gardens into your house.
Flexible waste pipes are one way for rats to gain access to your property as they can chew through the thin material.
“If you change the flexible waste pipe to a solid plastic pipe, rats don’t usually chew through solid plastic,” Mark advises.
“Or you can fit a one-way valve in your sewage pipes which is like cat flap which allows waste to leave the triplet, but won’t allow rats back up the line.”
Rats are climbers, so make sure foliage, such as ivy and wisteria, doesn’t reach the roof line. They can use it climbing plants as a route to the attic.
Also, a rat can squeeze through a 2cm hole so check air bricks and gaps around windows and doors to be sure they are protected.
Rubbish should be bagged and placed in sealed bins as they are attracted by food waste. Never let bins overflow.
“All they have to do is find a mate, so they urinate everywhere to attract a mate and the next thing you know is one rat has turned into seven or eight.” says Mark.
“Then everyone in the street could have rats because of one problem.”
Five common garden mistakes
Bird feed
Rats like to scavenge food people leave out for birds, so if you’re in the habit of treating your feathered friends, you may be inviting them in.
Mark advises having a catch tray under your bird feeder to stop the food falling to the floor and attracting rats.
But even then the sneaky rodents can get round that hack. “We have seen rats doing what squirrels do and running across washing lines to get to the bird feeders,” says Mark.
“The second big one is compost heaps. If you have got a compost heap which isn’t secure then rats will be in your garden,” he adds.
Pigeon food
“People are increasingly feeding pigeons by leaving food on the lawn,” says Mark.
“What they don’t realise is that the pigeons will come but the food will attract rats, then the foxes will come and try and eat the rats. Before you know it you have all the pests heading for your garden.”
Decking
“If you have decking in your garden that has soft soil underneath rather than hard-standing, rats get underneath the decking, burrow in the soft soil which may then lead to them getting underneath your property,” says Mark.
Bird baths and rainwater pools
Rats needs 60 millilitres of water a day so will gravitate to any water source in your garden.
Make sure standing water, such as bird baths and any container that will collect rainwater is removed from the garden.
Growing your own
Beware if you grow your own fruit and veg – as rats like a healthy and spicy diet.
Mark says: “I had a guy last week who was growing all these chillies in his garden and he came back from holiday and all of them had been destroyed by rats and a rat was then living in his shed.
“We caught the rat quickly but he was so upset that all these chillies he’d been growing all summer had been destroyed by a couple of rats who had a nice spicy takeaway.
“They know what is good for them – they like fruit and veg, nuts and seeds. Yes they will go round bins but if there is a fruit tree they think they have hit the jackpot.
“They will nest close to the fruit tree and during the summer they will pick up the plums as they drop on the floor and take them back to their burrow.
Secret weapon
But if anyone does suspect they have a rat in their property, Mark suggests trying to deal with it yourself before calling in a pest control expert.
And he says the secret weapon against rats is the humble Liquorice All-sort.
He explains: “If you are comfortable dealing with it yourself, there are some fantastic traps on the market.
“There is something called a Black Cat trap and the best thing to use as the bait is a Liquorice All-Sort. Rats have got wise to the pressure plate traps.
“With the Black Cat traps they have to lift the arm up to get the food and then the arm comes down and gives them the good news.
“You can’t use glue-boards any more – they were banned by parliament on 31 July. But if it is constant problem that has been going on for months then it has to be the sewer system.
“Then get the experts out and once they find the source you will never have rats again.”
Year-round problem
Mark says while insects keep him busy in the summer months, and mice in the winter, rats are a year-round problem.
“We have a rat every metre of the sewer line, so it is just teeming with them.
“We are building higher buildings now so more people are living in our cities, and the more people you have living in a locations the more rats you have.”
And far from being harmless, rats carry diseases which can be harmful to both humans and pets.
Last year Mark was called out to a home where the family puppy had died from the disease leptospirosis after licking the decking where rats had nested underneath.
“If you are going into the Thames and you have got any cuts or abrasions you could pick up leptospirosis and it can be fatal to humans too,” he says.
Help! I have mice or rats in my garden...
WHETHER you can hear them they're scurrying around your house, or underneath your decking, there's one reason you have mice...
Fabulous’ Associate Editor, Rebecca Miller, is a gardening enthusiast. She explains why it’s not uncommon to have mice, but you should be concerned if you have rats.
“Our gardens are homes to various animals, from birds to hedgehogs to squirrels. But there’s one animal no one wants to find – mice or rats.
“Mice can be destructive, and rats are just downright scary, and send everyone into a panic.
“But mice are common all across the UK – and one or two in the garden is not cause for alarm.
“Wood mice and field mice will easily get in your home since they are small enough to squeeze in almost anywhere. However, they are more likely to shelter in garages, sheds, and outhouses because they provide easier access to the outside world.
“You’re also more likely to see mice inside during the autumn and winter months.
“As for rats, they are generally considered vermin and can spread potentially serious diseases. They tend to set up home beneath decking, in sheds or greenhouses, and compost heaps.
“Rats are mostly nocturnal so you may not see them when you’re in your garden, but there are some signs to look out for: tunnels or ‘runs’, droppings, gnawed wood, or teeth marks in crops.”