Rats In The Loft

[LadyDTM]

I think i have a rat or rats in my loft. Theres lots of poop and i have looked on the internet and its bigger than mouse poop but the wrong shape for squirrels. I have heard scratching at night, like they're scratching the wooden beams. I dont want to put traps, id be petrified if there was one in there. I will call someone out but is there anything i can do/use to deter them in the meantime?. I've heard the ultrasound things arent much good, but id still give them a go if someone could recommend a good one, also what about smelly things like mothballs etc, im at my wits end. Thanks in advance

[jno]

you might try your local council, they need to eliminate pests though I expect these days they'll charge for it.

https://www.gov.uk/pest-control-on-your-property

(That's for the UK - are you in the USA?)

[barry1010]

Could it be bats? If it is rats you absolutely must get a pest control service in straight away, either the council or a private service. They are not only destructive but can be a fire hazard and a serious health risk.

[DTCwordfan]

garden or hardware centre - they sell rat poison - the one I am thinking is not cheap and comes in a bucket with some 80 packets. Essentially, you stick your head through the loft trap-door and spray them around. The rats eat them and the poison nails their kidneys. They will flee the house looking for water so 'die away from home'... Barry is right - the house I grew up in, a late 16th C farmhouse in the Lakes with 10 bedrooms had its roof and upstairs (on an l) burned through as a result of rats going through the tricity wires..took 8 engines to bring the fire under control it's now been restored and the family went around it last August. Rat damage too can mean holes in your water pipes - particularly pvc/plastic ones and it only takes a small hole to cause water issues.

[mallyh]

we had this problem the first week we moved to this home, called the council out and they put black boxes with poison in .there was no charge for this but that was 11 years ago .

[DTCwordfan]

Bats - generally you won't hear unless you are tuned to their high frequency. Some folk can smell them, like my daughter but she loves them. You'll see them at dusk and dawn on a fine evening though. Removing bats in the UK is illegal (up to a £5000 fine) and if you are thinking of renovation work, you need to take advice on what to do - often means setting up a bat hotel. I believe there are fines in the US if you are Stateside.

My best is that it is a family or village of rats up there.

[Old_Geezer]

One wonders how they get so high. You could put down poison.

[mallyh]

they were coming up the gaps between bricks we were told but when we had insulating stuff put in walls it stopped .

[Gill1941]

You can buy rat poison online.
I had a nest in my front garden. Local council no longer do pest control and no private firms working at the moment here.
Don't delay, you need to get rid of asap.
Mine have gone now with just two lots of bait down hole.

[woofgang]

A simple thing you can do, if possible is get up there often, make noise and move stuff around. If you use the attic for storage then clear out as much as you can. I have the same problem in my garage and the moving stuff making noise strategy keeps them at bay. Yes get a specialist in but if the environment is what rats need, shelter, safety, food nearby. then new rats will continue to move in...and yes see if you can find how they are getting in and block it. As others have said, be careful its not bats who are protected. A webcam might be useful to find out what is going on before you act if you can't get a specialist in.

[barry1010]

Easy way to tell if it is bats - their droppings turn to powder when disturbed.

[woofgang]

oh PS while you can control rat access to your own food waste, that's often not enough. When rats lived in my garage i found the head of a (cooked) lobster and half a dead snake behind the freezer.

[Maydup]

Pest Control companies are operating at the moment with social distancing measures in place.

[justinej]

Hi, rats are notoriously tricky to get rid of (that's the bad news!) Obviously an exterminator will be a good help. But in the meantime I'd recommend deep cleaning your loft. Seal any gaps or cracks, even the tiny ones. Remove anything that doesn't need to be there. Clean it often.

[barry1010]

I'd try DIY methods with anything but rats and squirrels. The possible consequences are too dire to mess with.

[LadyDTM]

Thank you everyone for all your advise. I called in a professional. Fingers crossed