I’m a pest control expert – here are 9 mistakes people make which attract rats and why you should NEVER lay down poison
RATS… the word alone is enough to make you shudder, and now they are bigger, broodier, and better than ever at sneaking into our homes.
This week pest control expert Terry Walker, 57, warned of 1.5ft rodents running riot across the country - and he expects his biggest ever catch will "soon be beaten".
Not only are they getting bulkier, their numbers are increasing too. There are now 150 million in the UK - over two rats for every person - following a 20 per cent surge during the 2020 lockdowns.
Factors behind the spike include reduced rubbish bin collection delays, slashed council services, more people feeding the birds and compost heaps.
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Terry, from , has 43 years of experience and blames our highly processed diets for the bigger beasts.
Normal things we all do could be encouraging our furry foes to take shelter in our homes and gardens. Here The Sun spoke to leading pest control experts to find out what you can do to discourage rodents from plaguing your property.
Creep in through wall cracks
Rats can squeeze themselves into small spaces, which means any crack, crevice or hole could present a problem for your home defences.
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Paul Bates, 63, of , told The Sun: “Unlike us, rats’ skulls are flexible and they can flatten themselves down. If there’s a thumb-sized gap a small rat can fit through it."
Keep an eye out for any cracks on the walls of your home or gnawed pipes as the rodents may be trying to break in.
"Most pipes are made of plastic but they can use their teeth to chew aluminium, lead and concrete too," Paul warned.
Crawl up loo
Rats can hold their breath for up to three minutes, which is long enough for them to swim from the sewer up the waste pipe to your bathroom.
Paul said rats are good swimmers, able to navigate their way around U-bends and crawl up through the toilet into our homes.
While it's rare, it does happen and is more common in cities with big sewage systems.
To stop this nightmare scenario, you can install a toilet guard, or a rat flap, in your bathroom. This only moves in one direction, meaning if rats try to enter through your plumbing, they won't get beyond the flap.
Foul-smelling corpses poisonous to pets
If you spot a rat in your garden or fear you may have an infestation, Terry warns against putting down poison inside without a thorough inspection.
He explains: “Any number of rats could take the bait and die in a cavity wall or ceiling, leaving a brown stain from a rat decomposing, and a nasty smell.”
Festering dead animals can attract flies, maggots and more critters.
"Sometimes rat can jump out at you from bait boxes too, you never get used to that," Terry said.
You should also take care putting poison down in your garden if you have pets, as they could ingest it or come across a contaminated carcass. It's better to call in the experts.
Threat to children from messy gardens
More waste attracts more pests, so an unkempt garden is like a Mecca for rats.
If your children play in your garden, this can leave them vulnerable to picking up nasty diseases. Rats carry a wide range of bacteria, parasites, viruses and worms.
They also carry Weil's disease, a form of leptospirosis which results in headaches, muscle pain and in severe cases can cause meningitis and kidney failure.
Terry explained: “If someone has an overgrown garden, that could lead to a higher rat population.
“If your neighbours are messy, you can contact your local environmental health enforcement officers, who are there to help."
Keep your garden tidy, clearing away fallen leaves and ensuring bushes are trimmed so they have nowhere to hide.
Hiding places
Terry claims old wooden sheds, kennels and decking provide perfect dens for rats to burrow under for shelter. They're made all the more appealing if they have a food supply close to hand.
“While it’s often human behaviour that attracts them in the first place, it’s not always the property owner’s fault,” he adds.
This can be worsened if a person stores dog, rabbit or other pet food outside in an unsecured area without a lock.
Not only does that provide a food source for rodents, they could also contaminate it, resulting in a potentially severe health risk to your pets.
Sneak in through damaged roof
Another rodent entry point to a house is through the roof. Broken guttering provides easy access for rats to chew through, while damaged soffits - the area beneath the eaves - and fascia boards also enable access.
If you have a creeper along the walls of your home, this could make you more susceptible to a rodent invasion. Paul once discovered rats climbing up thick ivy on the side of a building.
And Adam Juson, 44, founder of , says he's known rats “walk across phone lines” to slip into buildings from above.
Loft insulation provides a perfect nest for rats - often you'll smell urine, see droppings or spot chewed cardboard boxes if they are there.
In rare cases rats can crawl down behind the walls and end up in other rooms of the house. Terry told how they look for warm, dry hiding places - so your wardrobe could be a prime spot.
He said: “Sometimes you’ve moved everything in the property but know the rat is still in there. I once found one hidden inside a fur coat.
“Another time I spent an hour searching for it only to pull back the curtains and could see a tail sticking out of the pleating. It definitely made me jump.
“One time, my dog Max was going mad near a guitar and I didn’t know why. I shook the instrument and realised the rat had squeezed itself through the guitar strings and was stuck inside.”
Uncovered drains
During the lockdowns, Adam's company saw more and more drain-related infestations as hungry rodents sought out alternative food sources while businesses were shut.
Sometimes this can occur as a result of poor building work, dodgy plumbing - or botched DIY.
Terry said: “It’s very popular for people to add rooms and extensions, but if a previous pipe isn’t capped off, from a toilet for example, that can be an entry point for rats.
“If there’s a hole in an air brick or an air vent, they can work their way through. It’s the same for pipes, gullies and drains. I’ve even seen it in newly built properties too."
Aim to cover up drains and manholes where possible to deter rodents and cut off their entry point.
Breeding and feeding grounds
Many of us are now more environmentally friendly than ever, but this too could present problems – particularly if you have a compost heap.
“If you’re less careful while composting food scraps it could bring hungry rats to your garden from miles around,” Adam said.
“You could put it in a metal bin and install wire, but to me, that’s a waste of money. Instead, turn over the soil whenever you add waste so that the new stuff can degrade quickly.”
Terry, who started eradicating pests on farms when he was just 14, believes more people feeding birds and squirrels is partly to blame for a boom in rat populations.
Garden centres reported a surge in bird food sales during Covid as people stuck at home tried to attract wildlife to their gardens.
Adam advises people to feed with caution and choose a safe spot, away from your home. You should also put away feeders if you spot a rat.
“Clear any remains from the ground and don’t leave a couple of kilos of food hanging on a fence overnight, it’s just asking for trouble,” he told The Sun.
Overflowing bins
Basic things like ensuring bin liners of rubbish and food scraps aren’t left outside the front or rear of the property is an easy way to prevent attracting rats to your home.
“You need to ensure all rubbish is put in the wheelie bin and every now and again, check for any holes or nibbles in the plastic,” Sam Devereux of says.
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Terry adds: “When bin collections are reduced, as they have been in some instances during Covid, that makes things worse."
If your bin is overflowing, see if you're able to drop some off at your local tip before your collection day.
