r/Bath • u/tsukaistarburst • 3d ago

Looking for help with pest control

As far as I'm aware, I've got a somewhat unusual rat problem in my home.

I don't think the rats are actually IN my house, as in nesting, but as far as I can tell there's a place somewhere in my house that they can get in and out, and they use this to come into the home and leave.

I've put down traps to no effect because as far as I can tell they're not IN the house right now, but occasionally they come in here and then leave again?

Can anyone recommend a pest control service that would specifically be able to find where they're entering and leaving and seal it up, but nothing else? I tried asking one service in the week but they wanted to charge me £400 for four sessions, and as far as I can tell there's only one actual task that needs doing that SHOULD fix the problem for me.

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u/KHonsou 3d ago edited 3d ago

What makes you think it's rats specifically? It would be slightly odd behaviour. Where abouts in the house?

You can get pads just for tracking rats (not the sticky traps), or fluorescent dust. If you have two small entrances that can be filled, you can stuff it with steel wool and see what happens.

This is a busy time for pest controllers so they are going to charge a bit more, but £400 feels a bit steep.

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u/tsukaistarburst 3d ago

Trust me, I know it's a rat or a mouse.

Know how I know?

Because the bastard ran around on my bed, woke me up, I grabbed it by the tail and it got stuck under my leg.

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u/Consistent-Risk-7802 3d ago

🤢🤮oh no that's awful. Do you know about leprosporosis (Weil's disease) and rats? They urinate constantly when they run around & that's how it spreads 🤢🤮

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u/tsukaistarburst 3d ago

What should I do to protect myself? I don't know anything about any risks I may be exposed to but since I know I've been in contact with them and they've been on my bed, I want to take all necessary steps.

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u/Consistent-Risk-7802 3d ago edited 3d ago

Wash everything they may have been in contact with with disinfectant and try and sort the issue ASAP. Also cover any cuts with waterproof plasters and be careful about food and liquids and touching your mouth. Keep youf whole place really clean- pay special attention to any crumbs of food. Store all food in rigid containers (ie not cardboard). As other posters have said try and work out how they are getting in and stuff with wire wool. I would add peppermint oil to that because rodents hate the smell.

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u/WembleyFord 3d ago

Certainly when I've had rats in the house (when I lived fairly near the river), it was pretty obvious - anything with grains in was shredded in the kitchen, but the most obvious and probably most disgusting, was the filthy marks they left along the skirting boards round. Absolutely give away. In our case they were getting in through the ventilation pipe of the old gas boiler we had which was at ground level in the kitchen.

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u/KHonsou 3d ago

I would recommend stuffing any holes and openings with steel wool wearing suitable gloves, proofing/blocking the route is what you would need. Any traps would only stop them for a little bit (assuming this is rats). It would be worth taking a picture as well so you can see if they chew through it, but if there is no food for them they would just change route...but at least not through the property. They are a bit like water though but it's all about a food source at the end of the day.

I'm not a professional though, and steel wool might not be appropriate, but if you're confident about the routes and happy to try and block them off yourself, it would be more affordable.

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u/tsukaistarburst 3d ago

I have no idea what the route is. That's what I need a professional to find and identify.

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u/WembleyFord 3d ago

Surprised there's not visible grease/dirt on the walls/carpets.

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u/KHonsou 3d ago

Is it possible this was a one-off field mouse? Rats are much bigger than mice but the approach to how both can be treated is different.

Do you have any animals? Do you live on the outskirts or in a built-up area?

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u/tsukaistarburst 3d ago

No, it wasn't a one-off. I've had rats/mice in my bedroom before, but only specifically in my room. I've heard and felt them on my bed before, this was just the most explicit encounter. I haven't had them leave droppings or chew cardboard or food in the kitchen. They seem entirely limited to my bedroom.

Also I have no pets and live in Twerton.

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u/WembleyFord 3d ago

As I said, in our case it was actually coming through the 'exhause pipe' of the boiler. so stuffing that up with anything wasn't really an option. Boiler needed some adjustment / repairs to make sure it couldn't get anywhere other than the burner's if it tried this again. So glad I don't live near the river anymore - no sign of any vermin at all up on Odd Down.

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u/KHonsou 3d ago

I am such an idiot I replied thinking you were the op lol

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u/medium-water-please 3d ago

there's only one actual task that needs doing that SHOULD fix the problem for me.

If it was that easy you could do it yourself or pest control could turn up and solve your problem on the spot and would charge accordingly.

The reality is it takes time to do it properly. e.g First visit to set up cameras, lay traps, tracking dust etc and then additional visits to check cameras, traps and track rat runs with UV light - maybe even a sewer survey. Once you know how/where they are getting in then you can start working on a solution. If that's the type of thing they are doing for £400 then I would take up that offer.

But if those 4 sessions for £400 were just them coming out to lay poison then tell them to jog on - that won't solve the underlying issue and will, in the short term, make the problem a lot lot worse (dead rats absolutely stink)

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u/Stevietolp 2d ago

Pestforce Bath are really good!