Rats in drains and why we survey

We carryout drain surveys as a standard part of our rat control treatment, this is because most internal rat infestations are proven to come via the sewerage and drainage system to the property. 

 

Investment has been made in drain survey equipment because we found that drainage contractors know little about rats and do not look for the same tell tale clues that we look for – successful rat control is all about investigation and the more thorough the survey then the better outcome for control. 

 

The use of poison in drains is something that we can do however wherever possible we will set traps to physically catch the rats. A rat from one of our traps may point us to the access point for the house and therefore help us bring the infestation to a speedy resolution. 

Poison controls rats by killing off those that have made it into the property but it will not stop future infestations only a program of Integrated Pest Management can do that. We investigate, determine the point where they’re getting in and come up with a plan of action to seal that access for good. 

 

When looking at drains we will often see cracked and broken clay pipes that have allowed rats into the property, modern plastic pipes can be badly fitted leaving gaps which the rats gnaw open and occasionally we find negligence by the builder as the reason for the infestation. This can be in the form of missing blank plugs in the plastic inspection chamber or an uncapped redundant part of the system, all these can be rectified through either the installation of a one way valve or the relining of the pipework. 

 

The sewerage system is a warm environment with a supply of drinking water and ... food for the rats. They will eat faeces when other foodstuffs are in short supply and around the winter months this is when we see most callouts for rats in peoples homes. Sewer temperatures will be several degrees warmer than surface temperatures and if rats can get from the sewer into your home then its found itself the ideal winter home. 

 

We will not charge you for a drain survey – its part of our approach to ridding you of 

 

A classic example of poor building work; this is a length of vitrified clay pipe that runs under a renovated house. The clay pipe is very brittle and when it was cut out of the system the builder broke a section which he then 'capped' off with a house brick pushed down at 90 degrees. The rats have run up the dry section and dug out and around the brick, getting into the house under the kitchen floor and giving the owner years of trouble - 5 minutes with the drain camera and we know the cause of the infestation. Capped, trapped and resolved.