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Hello I am posting here because I am at my wit's end, I am speculating that this is a possible plumbing issue but I acknowledge this might be the wrong forum if it's not.
I moved into my three bed semi about 5 years ago. It was built in 2007-2008, so barely 10 years old.
When I first moved in and went into the loft I noticed a couple of large droppings (definitely rat) on top of the insulation. I was a little surprised but not really bothered, I left some traps and trays of poison down. I checked regularly and there was no activity, and after a few months I forgot about it. Two years or so went by and nothing so I guessed it was a one off. I also noticed that my drain stack vent was not connected to the pipe in the roof, but just capped off and rain water was therefore coming in just hitting the insulation. One other thing that I'm not sure was significant was that the capped pipe coming off the top of the vertical vent pipe into the loft had slipped off the push fit, so if a rat could manage to climb the 110mm diameter pipe it could have got in to the loft via that way. There were what appeared to be teeth marks on the top of the vertical pipe but only a bit and no actual gap that rat could fit through. Anyway I removed the cap and connected it to the roof vent, and also pushed it back onto the vertical stack.
A year or so ago my wife said she could hear something scratching around overhead when she was in bed. Then my elderly neighbour had a rat come up from inside her kitchen cupboard and her dog nailed it in the living room. She called her own pest controller round who just put a tray of bait in the back of the cupboard and checked back after a few weeks, and told her it was untouched.
I got my own friend who is also a pest controller to come to my house and he put some bait down in my loft as the noises were becoming more frequent. Two dead rats were found, one almost immediately and another found by me about a month after he removed the poison which I thought was a bit odd.
We checked the outside of both houses thoroughly and found three bottom bricks missing on my neighbours house, all giving access to the wall cavity. Two of these were in the front garden wall and one was down the side of the house on a very narrow strip of land that appears to be used as a dumping ground by the builders as I removed all sorts of building materials from down there, it appeared to be a great enviroment for rats. There were no cobwebs visible on any of the holes which also added to my suspicion that I had located the entry points. All holes have been blocked now. I also got a spade and pulled back the top couple of inches of earth along this strip of land to expose the whole bottom brick and top of the foundations, I am 100% certain there are no more entry holes anywhere around the walls or roof of either house.
I thought that was the problem sorted until late one night I heard the sound of a rat running and scratching above our bedroom again! I couldn't go back to sleep all night I was so ****ed off. I went to see my neighbour again the following afternoon to tell her. I was quite surprised when she told me that morning she had been woken up again by a dog chasing a rat round her house. She said she thought it must have come up from the kitchen because something had been jumping in her dogs water bowl and splashed it all over the floor. The dog had chased the rat into the spare room and the pest controller she called out found it hiding in the bed where he dispatched it.
I called my mate round again who said he thought there must be a problem with the drains. He smoke tested both mine and next doors from the manholes and there was no sign of smoke in either house or loft. For some peace of mind he fitted a one way stainless steel rat flap on both drains where they join the sewer.
A month or so went by with no more noises, then I heard a rat again. This was about two weeks ago. My friend came back but is stumped now. We verified both flaps were working freely and not stuck open.
All I can now think of is that there is some severe building defect in either/both houses that is allowing rats to somehow get under the building and into the wall cavity, then climb up into the loft. I am reluctant to call another pest controller because I can't see how they can offer anything else, I think I might need a builder but where to start??
Any ideas appreciated, thanks.
I moved into my three bed semi about 5 years ago. It was built in 2007-2008, so barely 10 years old.
When I first moved in and went into the loft I noticed a couple of large droppings (definitely rat) on top of the insulation. I was a little surprised but not really bothered, I left some traps and trays of poison down. I checked regularly and there was no activity, and after a few months I forgot about it. Two years or so went by and nothing so I guessed it was a one off. I also noticed that my drain stack vent was not connected to the pipe in the roof, but just capped off and rain water was therefore coming in just hitting the insulation. One other thing that I'm not sure was significant was that the capped pipe coming off the top of the vertical vent pipe into the loft had slipped off the push fit, so if a rat could manage to climb the 110mm diameter pipe it could have got in to the loft via that way. There were what appeared to be teeth marks on the top of the vertical pipe but only a bit and no actual gap that rat could fit through. Anyway I removed the cap and connected it to the roof vent, and also pushed it back onto the vertical stack.
A year or so ago my wife said she could hear something scratching around overhead when she was in bed. Then my elderly neighbour had a rat come up from inside her kitchen cupboard and her dog nailed it in the living room. She called her own pest controller round who just put a tray of bait in the back of the cupboard and checked back after a few weeks, and told her it was untouched.
I got my own friend who is also a pest controller to come to my house and he put some bait down in my loft as the noises were becoming more frequent. Two dead rats were found, one almost immediately and another found by me about a month after he removed the poison which I thought was a bit odd.
We checked the outside of both houses thoroughly and found three bottom bricks missing on my neighbours house, all giving access to the wall cavity. Two of these were in the front garden wall and one was down the side of the house on a very narrow strip of land that appears to be used as a dumping ground by the builders as I removed all sorts of building materials from down there, it appeared to be a great enviroment for rats. There were no cobwebs visible on any of the holes which also added to my suspicion that I had located the entry points. All holes have been blocked now. I also got a spade and pulled back the top couple of inches of earth along this strip of land to expose the whole bottom brick and top of the foundations, I am 100% certain there are no more entry holes anywhere around the walls or roof of either house.
I thought that was the problem sorted until late one night I heard the sound of a rat running and scratching above our bedroom again! I couldn't go back to sleep all night I was so ****ed off. I went to see my neighbour again the following afternoon to tell her. I was quite surprised when she told me that morning she had been woken up again by a dog chasing a rat round her house. She said she thought it must have come up from the kitchen because something had been jumping in her dogs water bowl and splashed it all over the floor. The dog had chased the rat into the spare room and the pest controller she called out found it hiding in the bed where he dispatched it.
I called my mate round again who said he thought there must be a problem with the drains. He smoke tested both mine and next doors from the manholes and there was no sign of smoke in either house or loft. For some peace of mind he fitted a one way stainless steel rat flap on both drains where they join the sewer.
A month or so went by with no more noises, then I heard a rat again. This was about two weeks ago. My friend came back but is stumped now. We verified both flaps were working freely and not stuck open.
All I can now think of is that there is some severe building defect in either/both houses that is allowing rats to somehow get under the building and into the wall cavity, then climb up into the loft. I am reluctant to call another pest controller because I can't see how they can offer anything else, I think I might need a builder but where to start??
Any ideas appreciated, thanks.
