smelly toilet + rats!

gasmanstu72 · 29 Jun 2015

Hey guys,
My downstairs cloakroom which has a toilet and basin in it has become quite smelly over the last few months, I've finally got around to investigating it by lifting some of the floor,
The toilet waste pipe looks ok, but when I removed some of the glass wool insulation I found loads of rat droppings! And after further investigation I found the concrete around the basin waste there was a gap.
Could this be the way the little buggers are getting in and the source of the smell?
It's right awkward to get at to cement it up, so would foam filler do the trick as I could fill it easier with that?
Here's a picture

gasmanstu72 · 29 Jun 2015

View attachment 81657

A better pic

gasmanstu72 · 29 Jun 2015

Bosswhite · 29 Jun 2015

They will probably just eat the foam filler, I would put a mortar mix around the pipe if possible and try and locate how they get in from the outside

Rampage77 · 30 Jun 2015

Would you say the smell is the drains or the rats? If its a "drain" type smell then you may have a bigger problem, broken drain (where the rats are coming from) If its more of a Roland Rat smell then cementing the hole up is a good idea.

Bosswhite · 30 Jun 2015

I would check the Grey fitting which is on the Brown Pipe that dosent look like the right fitting to me , the grey fitting should be an internal fitting it looks like its an external fitting ( possibly solvent welded on) check there for leaks, Where does the white pipe go to ?
Check the main sewer is not blocked and flush the toilet to see if that is flushing away OK,

Madrab · 30 Jun 2015

Process of elimination, stuff some bundled galv chicken wire down the hole first and then fill over with reinforced concrete, mix some pebble/shingle through the concrete.

If rats have found a nice place to stay, they can chew through concrete, before it fully hardens, to get to it. The chicken wire and shingle will make it much harder for them to get through it.

gasmanstu72 · 1 Jul 2015

thanks for the replies,
ive tidied up all the rat mess, threw out the stinking insulation and literally chucked some cement around the gaps,
I've also laid a trap and i'll check back in a few days to see what has taken the bait,
the smell has subsided quite a lot, there's still a slight whiff of poo but that's most likely because ive only got a plastic bag stuffed into the multi quick!

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smelly toilet + rats!

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