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Rats in Sewers

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I have written before about the fact that the seasonal infestations of rats that we once saw have now disappeared.

Call Out For Rat Problems

We often now see a steady number of rat calls all year round and personally I have linked this to the increase in rats in sewers. I would go as far as to say that 90% of all calls for rats in lofts are linked to sewer issues.

There are a number of reasons for this increase but in my humble opinion the one major route cause lies in the massive increase in populations of rats in sewers.

Local Authority Baiting

Once local authorities would bait all the main sewer lines on a rota basis. A local rat man ( I like that term, that’s what we are and have been for generations) would lift each manhole cover on a yearly or bi-yearly cycle and bait the sewer benching with rodenticide bait. This would then be checked in 7 days time.

Those manholes that showed signs of rodent activity would then be re-baited and marked on a map, these same manholes would again be checked after another 7 days, and baited again if necessary.

This was carried out by local rat men employed by local authorities, they knew their areas and knew the local hot spots and issues.

Once this service was reduced, or stopped in a lot of areas then it gave rats in sewers a chance to not only build up, but exploit any faults in the ageing sewer systems.

Another consequence of this was the loss of the knowledge, gained, stored, and passed on by local pest controllers who once knew their patches inside out.

Evidence of rats in sewers
Under a manhole showing signs of rats in sewers.

Rat Activity In Sewer Evidence

As you can see in the above photo there are obvious signs showing rat activity and you can also see a couple of obvious faults that are being exploited by rats.

In the sides of the manhole chamber there are holes and faults where rats are escaping what should be a sealed soil system.

Also at the end of one of the pipes (which leads to a gully pot) is showing signs of rats digging,you can see a pile of soil that really should not be in the system.

In the photo below you can see a hole in the house external wall which a rat has used to access the wall cavity. Rats had been digging out of the system for years and undermining the driveway, totally unnoticed by the home tenants, until that is, they got lucky and found the missing brick!

This is a rat issue that had been missed by numerous pest control companies until I noticed wobbly flags on the driveway and a rat ran under one of them.

The missing brick that has allowed rats in the sewer to access a home.
The missing brick allowing rats access!

Call A Local Pest controller

If you have concerns about rats in your home, please don’t hesitate to give me a call on 07821 318 954 or message me online and we can arrange a time and date best suited for a call out.

The post Rats in Sewers appeared first on Ian Smith Pest Control.


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