Rats in the Loft
In Pests
Rats in the Loft
Before you see rats in your loft you are most likely to hear them scurrying around at night. Other evidence of rats will be damage to food or household items that have been gnawed on. PESTUK Reading Central deal with rats throughout the year due to the old sewer system’s, the rail tracks and the water ways all providing cover and safe passage for the rodents.
Rats have well developed senses of smell, taste and touch. Rats breed rapidly and become sexually mature in about three months. Each female may produce from 3 to 12 litters of up to eight young in a year. Rats need to gnaw to keep their constantly growing incisor teeth worn down. They can inflict an enormous amount of structural damage. This includes causing fires by gnawing away the insulation around electrical cables, floods by puncturing pipes and even death by chewing through gas pipes.
Lofts can be used as nesting areas and kitchens as a food source. Rats are extremely intelligent, adapting to their surroundings. This can make controlling rats a difficult task. For these reasons we would always recommend having a proffessional pest controller treat your rat problem, rather than attempting to deal with it yourself. Professional and quality pest control services are available by checking the BPCA for local companies near yourself. The BPCA is the leading UK trade association representing organisations with a professional interest in the eradication and management of public health pests. They are a not-for-profit organisation acting in the interests of members and on behalf of the pest management industry within the UK.
PEST UK can get rid of rats in your loft.
Treating Rats in a Loft
Infestations are normally dealt with by using cereal based poison bait containing an anticoagulant poison called Sakarat, which contains the poison Bromadioline 0.005%. This poison usually requires that the rats feed several times before dying or if they consume enough poison to give them a lethal dose on their first feed they will not suffer any ill effects until some time after this feeding. This ensures that they do not become suspicious and associate the bait with illness or death and a complete kill takes place killing all the rats in the colony. It is important to achieve a complete kill, as they breed at such a rapid rate that any survivors soon replace the dead with their offspring.
Rats live in colonies with dominant and subordinate individuals. In heavy infestations rats can be seen feeding during the day, these are usually the old and weaker animals that feed during the more dangerous hours of daylight to avoid the aggressive dominant rats. Seeing rats during the day means that the problem is quite severe.
Rats are attracted to the smell of other animals and their food, so particular care should be taken when feeding pets, wild birds etc., the storage of any foodstuffs and the disposing of rubbish, including animal droppings. Should you find any dead bodies they must not be handled without protection and should be buried or burnt.
For these reasons we always recommend a professional pest control company be used to ensure a successful treatment.
The price includes disposal of the contaminated loft insulation, vacuuming the loft, applying biocide, the supply and installation of new loft insulation. It is important that any rat, mouse or squirrel infestation is eliminated prior to any work being carried out.
If you would like advice or a quote, call us on 0800 026 0308 or email us at services@pestuk.com
