by developersHow To Get Rid Of A Rat Infestation
A rat infestation in your Edinburgh home can be highly distressing and potentially dangerous for you and your family. Rats cause extensive property damage by chewing on beams, walls, furniture and other parts of your home, causing structural damage.
In some cases, rats can chew through live electrical wiring, leading to a potential fire hazard. They also spread diseases, including Hantavirus, Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis and others.
That’s why it’s crucial that homeowners across Edinburgh and the Lothians get professional rat control from experts like Edinburgh Environmental Services (EES). Our team have extensive experience providing rodent control, for not only rats but also mice and squirrels.
Rodents are particularly common in Edinburgh, as the city’s terraced and tenement properties offer many potential entry points and food sources for all rodent species, including rats. Following the end of the Covid Pandemic in 2022, there were over 1 million rats in Edinburgh, and the city has retained a strong rodent population over the years thanks to increased populations and tourists.
So, if you notice any signs of rodent activity, it’s imperative that you act quickly. That’s why our Edinburgh rat control experts have put together this handy guide explaining how to identify a rat issue, steps to take when you do and how to prevent rats to limit the chances of future rat infestations.
Signs Of A Rat Infestation
As large rodents, rats are relatively easy to see, so the most common sign of a rat infestation is seeing actual rats. However, rats are also very shy, and neophobic, meaning they’re afraid of new objects. They’re also most active at night, so you might not always see them. Some other signs of a rat problem are:
- Rat Droppings: Rat droppings are small dark brown cylinders that are often found in clusters around skirting boards. They are around 1-2cm in length and are commonly deposited near food sources, such as in kitchens and cupboards, although they can be found throughout your property.
- Chew Marks: Issues such as gnaw marks on solid structures are a clear sign of rats. This is because rats, like all rodents, have front teeth that never stop growing. They need to wear these teeth down to keep them at a manageable size, and will chew on almost anything, including furniture, beams, walls, doors and other parts of your space.
- Noises: As already mentioned, rats gnaw almost constantly, and you will probably hear gnawing or scratching sounds if you have a rat infestation. You may also hear scurrying sounds as they run around your property, which is a sure sign that there is a rodent around, although it could also be mice or squirrels.
- Grease Marks: Rats have greasy fur, which can leave marks on skirting boards, the bottom of walls, doors and other surfaces throughout your home.
- Strong Smells: In cases of a larger infestation, you might notice an unpleasant smell in your home from rat urine, droppings or even dead rats decomposing. The smell is usually oily, musty pungent, so it’s unlike other scents you might notice.
- Rat Nests: If you look in quiet spaces, such as lofts, garages, sheds or utility rooms, you may notice piles of shredded materials, such as loft insulation or paper, which could be rat nests. If you have rats in your garden, you may see rat burrows, which are small holes in the ground, usually under sheds or outbuildings.
Steps To Take When You Notice Rats
As soon as you notice signs of rodent activity, you need to be proactive. Some basic steps you should take immediately are listed below.
Try To Identify The Species
The first step is to identify the pest species you have in your home. See if you can get a good photograph, either of the vermin itself or its droppings and tracks, so you can work out if the problem is rats, mice or squirrels. If it is a rat, check the colour of its fur, as black rats are typically darker and sleeker than brown rats. Identifying the species you’re dealing with can help make treatment faster, getting rid of rats quicker and reducing the damage they can do.
Book Professional Rat Control
As soon as you see signs of rats, or any rodent species, you need to book professional pest control. While DIY rat control might seem like an easy way to save money, the products aren’t cheap and are often ineffective against rats. This is because rats are neophobic and will avoid new objects. As such, you will probably just make your rat problem worse. Also, DIY rat treatments aren’t targeted, and so you may accidentally harm children, pets or non-target species, such as local wildlife. Working with a professional pest control company means that you get targeted rat treatment that works first time around and doesn’t harm your loved ones or the local environment.
Find Potential Entry Points
While you wait for your pest control technician, consider how the rats are getting inside your property. Check if there are obvious access points, such as holes in your home’s exterior, missing roof tiles or gaps between door or window frames and the wall. If you can’t see an obvious entry point for rats, speak to your pest controller. Rats also live in sewers, and may get into your home through displaced pipe joints, damaged drains caused by tree root ingress or by chewing through poorly-installed plastic pipes, so you may need a drain survey to find the root cause of your rat infestation. Once the entry points have been identified, your pest control provider can block holes and help reduce the chances of a future rat problem.
Check Your Pets For Signs Of Parasites
Another issue you may face is parasites, including fleas and ticks, which can spread through your home on rat fur and nesting materials. While they can bite humans, fleas usually prefer an animal host, so check any pets you may have for signs of fleas and speak to your pest controller if you need insect control as well as rat treatment.
Follow Your Pest Controller’s Instructions
It’s imperative that you follow the instructions provided by your pest control provider to ensure that the rat treatment is successful. If they suggest additional services, such as working with a builder to fix large holes or getting a CCTV drain survey, you should carry this out to ensure that you deal with not only the rats themselves, but also the cause of the infestation.
How To Prevent Rats
While it’s impossible to fully stop rats from ever gaining entry to your space, there are some steps you can take to significantly reduce your chances of an infestation, including:
- Block Potential Entry Points: Rats are highly agile and can get through gaps of just a few millimetres in diameter, so if you see any gaps in your home’s exterior you should block them using high quality mesh. If you struggle, you can book professional rodent proofing from professional pest control companies.
- Eliminate Food Sources: A simple way to avoid attracting rats is to eliminate potential food sources. You can do this by keeping your home clean to avoid crumbs, secure bins so food waste isn’t accessible, and store dried food and pet food in sealed containers. Also, make sure you remove fallen fruit from trees quickly and get a rodent proof bird feeder to avoid accidentally attracting rats to your garden.
- Get Rid Of Excess Items: Rats often love lofts and sheds because they offer them quiet, dark spaces full of lots of places to hide and things to chew. So, if you have a lot of unwanted items in your home, it could help to get rid of them to reduce the chances of rat issues and to generally make your house feel more like a home. EES offers house clearances and licensed waste removal to help you remove and dispose of unwanted items.
- Rearrange Your Garden Furniture: As rats are scared of new objects, a simple step is to rearrange garden furniture regularly. This will help to reduce the chances of them making a home in your garden and then moving into your home, although it’s not a completely effective method and won’t deal with large rodent populations.
- Be Vigilant: If you notice any signs of rat activity, then you need to act fast. The best way to reduce the damage caused by rats is to deal with them early, so keep an eye out for any issues and book professional rat control as soon as you notice signs of rats.
Book Professional Rat Control
Getting rid of rats might seem like a lot of work, but it’s actually surprisingly easy when you work with an experienced pest control provider like Edinburgh Environmental Services. Our team can carry out every stage of the process, from identifying the rodent species you’re dealing with to offering humane but effective treatment that won’t harm your children, pets or any non-target species.
Once the rats are fully removed, we can provide pest proofing to prevent future infestations and limit the chance of property damage and the need for costly repairs moving forward.
With our help, you can ensure your property is pest-free. As well as domestic rodent control, we also deal with all other common pests found in Edinburgh and the surrounding area, including ants, cockroaches, bed bugs, moths, silverfish, wasps, birds and more for domestic and commercial sites.
To book professional rat control in Edinburgh and find the root cause of your infestation, contact us on 0131 560 6441 and a member of our team will be happy to help.