Signs of a Rat Infestation in Your Home

Your Home could possibly be a home to rats too if you are constantly hearing scratching noises under the floor boards, in the structure, or have spotted dark brown droppings (about the size of a coffee bean) in the kitchen or in areas of the house. Rats are not just troublesome creatures that eat your food or can cause damage to your property; they are carriers of diseases too such as Weils, Rat bite fever and Cryptosporidiosis. Rats also carry parasites such as lice, flea and ticks. They are very intelligent and cannot just be treated by using DIY methods to try and eradicate them from your home.

If you recently experienced any of this, you need to call Mercury Pest Control London. We will provide specialist treatments for all levels of infestations in Domestic and Commercial Pest control.

Signs That Tell You Have a Potential Rat Problem

If you thought rats are as brazen as mice and you can easily see them go about their work, you are partially wrong. Rats are mainly active during the night due to being nocturnal.  Hence spotting a Rat during the daytime is usually a difficult task. Yes, mice are also nocturnal, but Rats suffer from neophobia which means they have an extreme dislike and irrational fear of something new. This is why many Rat issues can go undetected for long periods of time and before you know it that one or two Rats has turned into one or two litters. Here are some of the most common signs of a Rat infestation:

Drainage issues

Majority of Rat infestations are usually drain related. This can be caused by damaged old Victorian pipe work or a blockage in your system which Rats find easy to breach as they can simply swim through your pipework. If you are having pungent smells of sewage or had a recent drainage issue then this can also be a sign that you might be having a problem.

Scratching Noises

Rats can climb just about anywhere when they go in search of food. You may often hear scratching noises in the night from places such as under the floorboards or kitchen units, the attic and in storage cabinets. Rats often gnaw on wood, plastic and even concrete as they need to sharpen down their teeth or they will die. This is due to their lower incisors which don’t stop growing and would drill through the roof of its mouth and therefore cause the inevitable. The other reason you may also hear scratching noises at night can be due to them trying to gather nesting materials for a new harbourage location.

Smearing Marks

Will usually occur around pipework, on top of kickboards, especially under the dishwasher due to the gap made for leverage for it to open, bin cupboards, food shelving units, corners of rooms and other potential runs they may have. These can all result in visible smearing marks appearing from the grease and dirt on the bodies of Rats. They will also go scurrying from one place to another and in doing so Rats leave a trail that can often become quite smelly and stubborn to remove if left unattended. This is why we highly recommend that the infestation is dealt with a quickly as possible, as when left these smells may stay around for a long period of time after the infestation has been fully eradicated.

Footprints

Rats can leave foot and tail marks in less-used and dusty areas of the home or building. Under kitchen units, storage rooms, boiler cupboards, bin areas, attics and unused areas under stairs are all possible places where you can easily find rat footprints.

Rat Droppings

Rat droppings are one of the most important signs that tell you that you need to immediately hire a domestic Rat extermination company in London. Rat droppings are brown in colour and spindle-shaped like a coffee bean. Do not ignore any sightings of rat droppings, especially in you have noticed them inside your house hold. Rats multiply fast and an increase in Rat droppings is a sure-shot sign that you have a rodent problem to deal with.

Rat Burrows and Nests

Another common sign of a rat infestation is the presence of rat runs, burrows and nests in your property these areas can include; lofts, under floorboards, plant rooms, under kitchen units, storage cupboards and bin cupboards. They may also be discovered in the external part of your property such as under sheds, flower beds and under decking areas which are again ideal harbourage locations for them to nest. Decking has always been an ideal location for them, due to it being a safe place away from potential predators like, foxes and being in a much closer proximity able to breach your property.

Worried about how to deal or prevent a rat infestation in your home? Call us at Mercury Pest Control for expert domestic rat extermination anywhere in London.

POSTCODES WE COVER” description=”We cover the following postcodes for Pest Control in London

• EC1 Barbican, Clerkenwell, Finsbury
• EC2 Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street, Moorgate
• EC3 Fenchurch Street, Tower Hill, Monument, Aldgate
• EC4 St Paul’s, Fleet Street

Pest Control Central London WC Postcodes – 

• E1 Whitechapel, Stepney, Spitalfields, Shadwell, Stepney, Wapping
• E2 Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Haggerston
• E3 Bow, Bromley-by-Bow, Three Mills, Mile End, Old Ford
• E4 Chingford, Highams Park Sewardstone
• E5 Clapton, Upper Clapton, Lower Clapton
• E6 East Ham, Beckton
• E7 Forest Gate, Upton Park
• E8 Hackney, Dalston, London Fields
• E9 Homerton, Hackney Wick, Hackney Marshes, South Hackney
• E10 Leyton, Temple Mills, Walthamstow Marshes
• E11 Leytonstone, Wanstead, Snaresbrook
• E12 Manor Park, Little Ilford, Aldersbrook
• E13 Plaistow
• E14 Docklands, Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs, Limehouse, Blackwall
• E15 Stratford, West Ham, Maryland
• E16 Canning Town, North Woolwich, Silvertown, London City Airport
• E17 Walthamstow
• E18 Woodford, South Woodford

SE Postcodes – Pest Control South East London District or Area

• SE1 Waterloo, South Bank, Southwark, Borough, Bermondsey
• SE2 Abbey Wood, West Heath, Crossness
• SE3 Blackheath, Westcombe Park, Kidbrooke
• SE4 Brockley, Crofton Park, Honor Oak Park
• SE5 Camberwell, Denmark Hill
• SE6 Catford, Hither Green, Bellingham
• SE7 Charlton
• SE8 Deptford, Evelyn
• SE9 Eltham, Mottingham New Eltham
• SE10 Greenwich
• SE11 Kennington, Lambeth
• SE12 Lee, Grove Park, Chinbrook, Horn Park
• SE13 Lewisham, Hither Green, Ladywell
• SE14 New Cross, New Cross Gate
• SE15 Peckham, Nunhead
• SE16 Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays, South Bermondsey
• SE17 Walworth, Elephant & Castle, Newington
• SE18 Woolwich, Plumstead
• SE19 Crystal Palace, Upper Norwood
• SE20 Penge, Anerley
• SE21 Dulwich, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich
• SE22 East Dulwich, Peckham Rye
• SE23 Forest Hill, Honor Oak
• SE24 Herne Hill
• SE25 South Norwood, Selhurst
• SE26 Sydenham
• SE27 West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Tulse Hill
• SE28 Thamesmead

“SW Postcodes – Pest Control South West London District or Area

• SW1 Westminster, Belgravia, Pimlico, Knightsbridge, St. James’s
• SW2 Brixton, Streatham Hill, Brixton Hill
• SW3 Chelsea, Brompton, Knightsbridge
• SW4 Clapham
• SW5 Earls Court
• SW6 Fulham, Parson’s Green
• SW7 South Kensington
• SW8 Nine Elms, Vauxhall, South Lambeth
• SW9 Stockwell, Brixton
• SW10 West Brompton, Chelsea
• SW11 Battersea, Clapham Junction
• SW12 Balham, Clapham South
• SW13 Barnes
• SW14 Mortlake, East Sheen
• SW15 Putney, Roehampton
• SW16 Streatham, Norbury
• SW17 Tooting, Tooting Bec
• SW18 Wandsworth, Earlsfield
• SW19 Wimbledon, Southfields, Merton
• SW20 Raynes Park, South Wimbledon

W Postcodes – Pest Control West London District or Area

• W1 Mayfair, Soho, China Town, Marylebone, Fitzrovia, Harley Street
• W2 Bayswater, Paddington, Hyde Park
• W3 Acton, Park Royal, East Acton, West Acton
• W4 Chiswick, Turnham Green, Gunnersby
• W5 Ealing
• W6 Hammersmith
• W7 Hanwell
• W8 Kensington
• W9 Maida Vale, Little Venice
• W10 Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington
• W11 Notting Hill, Holland Park
• W12 Shepherd’s Bush, White City
• W13 West Ealing
• W14 West Kensington, Kensington Olympia

NW Postcodes – Pest Control North West London District or Area

• NW1 Camden Town, Euston, Somers Town, Regent’s Park
• NW2 Cricklewood, Dollis Hill, Childs Hill, Neasden
• NW3 Hampstead, Swiss Cottage, Belsize Park, Chalk Farm
• NW4 Hendon, Brent Cross
• NW5 Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Gospel Oak
• NW6 West Hampstead, Kilburn, Queen’s Park, Brondesbury
• NW7 Mill Hill, Arkley
• NW8 St John’s Wood, Primrose Hill, Lisson Grove
• NW9 Kingsbury, Colindale, West Hendon, Queensbury, The Hyde
• NW10 Willesden, Harlesden, Kensal Green, Stonebridge, Brent Park
• NW11 Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb

N Postcodes – Pest Control North London District or Area

• N1 Islington, Kings Cross, Canonbury, Barnsbury, Pentonville, Hoxton
• N2 East Finchley, Fortis Green
• N3 Finchley, Finchley Central, Church End
• N4 Finsbury Park, Manor House, Harringay, Stroud Green
• N5 Highbury
• N6 Highgate, Hampstead Heath
• N7 Holloway
• N8 Hornsey, Crouch End
• N9 Lower Edmonton
• N10 Muswell Hill
• N11 New Southgate, Friern Barnet, Arnos Grove, Bounds Green
• N12 North Finchley, Woodside Park
• N13 Palmers Green
• N14 Southgate, Oakwood
• N15 Seven Sisters, West Green
• N16 Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill, Shacklewell, Dalston
• N17 Tottenham, Tottenham South
• N18 Upper Edmonton
• N19 Upper Holloway, Archway, Tufnell Park
• N20 Whetstone, Totteridge, Oakleigh Park,
• N21 Winchmore Hill, Bush Hill, Grange Park,
• N22 Wood Green, Alexandra Palace, Bowes Green