How to get rid of rats in the wall

How to get rid of rats in the wall. One of peoples biggest fears is rats. Rats in European countries are generally viewed as a pretty horrible creature. This is not least due to their ability to carry diseases. The spread of the bubonic plague being attributed, at least in part to rats. This disease wiped out about a third of the population of Europe! Furthermore, bubonic plague is not the only disease which rats have helped to spread. Rats have also been know to transmit Lassa fever, leptospirosis and hantavirus infection to humans.

Rats emerging from a property

Rats are visually very similar to mice (the Romans called rats Mus Maximus or big mouse). However what makes rats a bigger pest than mice is their ability to spread rapidly almost anywhere. For example, the brown rat can often breed all year round, and takes only 21 days for it to give birth after becoming pregnant, typically with a litter of 7! Furthermore, they reach sexual maturity in just 5 weeks! So its important to remove a rat colony before it can get too big.

Rat in a wall cavity

Rats in buildings

Rats can thrive in many places, with rats living on every continent besides Antarctica. Unfortunately this includes peoples walls. Rats can get into them in various ways, they might climb up through air vents or sometimes even through sewers. But unless you’ve heard what sounds like rats scurrying about in your walls or gnawing then you should be alright!

So how do we deal with rats in the walls? The best way is to find out how the rats get in and out –  then use this point to place rodenticides or traps. But what happens if we can’t find the rats route of passage? Well when this happens we use previously made holes in the walls, sometimes in the loft or through holes made specifically for this. Using these locations we can get into the cavity that the rats are inhabiting. Once access to the interior walls has been achieved we can place baits in the wall which allows us to feed the rats rodenticides and get rid of them.

However, the situation with each rat infestation is different so the methods involved in getting rid of them will vary immensely depending on the situation!

If you think you have rats in your wall contact Chris our pest control professional for advice on how to deal with them.