Drain Surveys For Rats
Do you have a reoccurring rat issue?
90% of rat infestations are caused by faulty drainage. Rats will travel up and down sewers and public drainage systems in search of areas to nest. If they find a redundant drain/broken drain, plastic drainage that has not been fitted correctly or a flexipan rats will bypass these, exit the system and then gain access to your property.
Once one rat has made the journey into your property it will have left a pheromone trail for others to follow. From this moment your rat infestation will return time after time. No amount of trapping/use of rodenticides (poison) will solve this problem and blocking holes internally with expanding foam or even concrete is pointless. Rats can chew through or around any internal proofing and cause further damage to your property. The only way to solve a rat infestation is to find out where the point of entry is.
This can be difficult, because the problem is often below ground level, here is how we can help. We offer CCTV drainage surveys. From the inspection points we will run a camera through your drainage system trying to locate faults in the system. Alongside flush tests, smoke tests and dye tests we can be highly successful in finding the fault in your system and the cause of the rat infestation. You can watch the survey on a live real time recording and once we are finished you will get a full report with pictures and videos showing where the faults are in the system and where needs to be fixed.
Request a Drain Survey Quote online or call 0208 650 5163
Common scenarios:
I haven’t seen a rat, I’ve just heard scratching in my loft and in my walls – this is typical of a drain related rat infestation, drain rats have all the food and water they could possibly need down in the sewer systems, they have entered your property purely to nest within the insulation. If your pest controller is finding it difficult to trap or poison the rats, this will be because the rats simply are not interested in feeding within your property.
It is not until repairs have been done and the rats have been blocked from bypassing the drainage system will they start to hunt for a new food source within your property. We have done many jobs where you will not catch any rats for weeks, then as soon as the proofing works are complete you will catch them on every trap.
We’ve had an extension built recently and now we are hearing scratching – Unfortunately a very high number of rat infestations are caused by bad building work. Often builders are not aware of the possibility that rats could exit drainage systems and so they will not fit drains/cap redundant drains as they should (following building regulations).
When you have any work done with the drainage there is the possibility that drains can be broken, old drains left open or new plastic drains are not installed properly and are susceptible to being chewed.
One way valves (rat blockers) – it has now become very common for this to be the first port of call for drainage contractors/pest controllers to fit one way valves. They do have their uses, they can be an option when you do not want to find the problem with the drainage system, for example if the man hole or inspection points are inaccessible or the repairs are too costly.
They can also be useful to fit on plastic drainage systems which could be vulnerable to chewing. But you must be aware they are not the complete solution that they are made out to be. They can cause blockages and will need regular maintenance, if the flap of the valve is left ajar by some debris then rats can bypass them. It is also important that they are not fitted to shared systems as if it were to cause a blockage, you would be liable.
Request a Drainage Survey Quote online or call 0208 650 5163
Where do we cover?
Kent – Dover, Ashford, Maidstone, Tonbridge, Canterbury, Medway.
London/Greater London – Lewisham, Blackheath, Greenwich, Bromley, Beckenham, Bexleyheath, Croydon, Dartford.
Essex - Grays, Dagenham, Romford, Brentwood, Basildon.
