You Are Always 6 Feet Away From A Rat
It is said that you are always 6 feet away from a rat. Rats in the drain is the reason for this. They use the drain system as a super highway but always looking at ways to break out of the system. Rats can survive in a drain system as they can eat natural waste and there is water. This blog will cover the following:
- Rat Survey
- Drain Survey
- Drain Gates
- Rat Treatment
Rat Survey
When we are called out for a rat issue in a house we will always look in the drain system if it is available. We are looking for signs of rat such as droppings on the haunches, rat smear or gravel and dirt in the drain. If we find signs of rats in the drain and we have rats in the house then 90% of the time the two are linked. We then have to identify how the rats are leaving the drain system and entering the building.
Drain Survey
One way to to confirm how rats are leaving the drain system is by having a drain survey. A drain survey will identify faults and breaks in the drain system. If a building has had changes to rooms such as kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms then the drains may have been altered. This may mean you have a redundant drain which is a drain that is no longer used. If a redundant drain hasn’t been blocked off correctly then it is an easy route to get in under the floorboards. Pest-Tech can carry out basic drain surveys and cap off redundant drains. For more technical drain surveys, we can recommend a trusted company.
Drain Gate
Once you have had a drain survey, this will hopefully identify what is happening. If the survey identifies large works at a large costs, then a quick fix at lower cost solution is a drain gate. A drain gate is a one way valve to stop rats in the drains getting into areas of the drain system. The drain gate allows waste out and stops rats getting in. There are a few considerations and recommendations to follow with a fitted drain gate, this will be covered in a future blog.
Rat Treatment
We are always keen to get into the drain system when dealing with rats in a building. There are high levels of rat activity in the drains and it is very common to find they have broken out of the system. If we are responsible for dealing with your rat problem and carrying out a rat treatment, we will be wanting to lift your drain covers.
If you would like to find out more about our services then Contact Us to discuss your problem.