Long term rat infestation solved by a drain survey
Posted on 16th March 2019 at 13:39
We were asked to attend a house in Reading that had rats: previous attempts at pest control had consisted of the other companies putting down poison and leaving. The rats would be back within weeks so we were asked how we control rats in Reading - our answer was that we will look all round the property, trap and determine the access point - all without the use of poison.
The property was converted from a Chinese restaurant and in addition had a ground floor extension which contained a kitchen and downstairs toilet; as pest controllers this immediately indicates that the solution to the infestation lies beneath the ground.
Our treatments always start with a full 360 degree survey which takes in the adjoining property if there is one; after all there's no point ignoring the other part of a semi-detached house if that's where the rats are getting in.
We found no faults and no likely access points during the survey so we popped open the drain inspection lid. The only think visible at this point were some faint scratches on the concrete benching - as professional pest controllers we're looking for the slightest of clues as to the rats doorway into your home.
We then ran our survey camera up and down the drain lines: we carryout CCTV surveys of your drains as standard during our rat treatments: it aids us in diagnosing the issue and bringing the rat infestation to a speedy end.
We found a redundant lateral drain which ends in what looks like a house brick laid at 90 degrees to the run of the pipe, the builders probably thought that tamping down the ground would keep rats out - we know better than that as they will dig around for years until they finally get in.
This drain was sealed up; its not in use and the likely route into the house for the rats. We then moved onto the new drainage system at the front of the house and again ran the camera up and down the drains.
To our surprise we found an old section of drainage that is almost completely blocked with rubble, another sure sign that rats have been here digging away. These drains are so blocked we struggled to get the camera down the length so our short term solution is to install a one way valve in the drains and see what happens over the nest few weeks.
Two drain surveys with two faults.
We have set a number of break back rat traps in the house and we intend to monitor it over the next few weeks, the rear drain issue is fully resolved - its blocked and rats will not get in that way. The front drain will be cleaned out and re-surveyed to see if it is suitable for blocking off.
Here at Reading Pest Control we don't believe that simply putting down poison is the best way of dealing with your rat infestation; our approach is to manage the problem through a diagnostic approach of surveying, trapping and resurveying to get the answer to the most important question that we are asked -
"How are rats getting into my home?"
We think that the modern approach to rat control in Reading is NOT the use of poison but an Integrated Pest Management plan which ends with you being rat free and us having found the route into the building and sealed it up so you stay rat free.
Our customers are our priority - that's our watch word and we mean it.
Tagged as: Drain Surveys
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