Domestic Rat Control – Bristol Area

Rat pests in the Bristol area are more common than we may think. We can help you identify the rat vermin problem or control your house rat situation.

It is not as uncommon as you might think to hear that a Bristol house has a rat infestation in its cellar or under floor boards. Constantly urinating, rats give off a persistent ammonia and as nocturnal creatures they cause most domestic damage and upset during the night time hours. During the winter months mice and rats will start to move their way in towards the warmth of Bristol domestic residence.

The first thing to do is identify which vermin pest has taken up residence in your home. Sometimes they could be mice or squirrel vermin instead of rats. Rats have litters of up to 7 offspring and live up to about 3 years for brown rats. This is more like 12 months for a black rat. The house rat can carry a variety of disease and as opportunistic pests live near and alongside humans as scavengers. Rats can introduce mites and fleas pests into your home as well as spoil your food supplies and contaminate household work surfaces.

What can we do to prevent or control your rat pest problem around your residential home?

It has been found that the electronic audio device, often used as a deterrent for rodents is not always that effective as the rat can become accustomed to the high pitched noise these devices deliver. Our specialists will identify your rat vermin issue and begin setting rat control procedures and deliver a removal plan that will require a couple of repeat visits to ensure pest removal.

1. Signs of a Bristol rat infestation include fresh droppings along their habitual routes. You may see rat footprints/tail swipes in spilled powders, smudge and rub marks on walls and pipes, and gnaw marks with twin grooves (3mm apart).
2. If you can poke a marker pen through a hole, a rat can potentially also squeeze through it.
3. Rats in Bristol are generally nocturnal meaning they prefer to feed at night; they will feed at several sites around the nest. They are rarely seen in the day unless present in high numbers.
4. Proofing their entry holes externally – Seal all gaps half an inch wide or bigger below and above the roof-line of property. Use bricks, sand and cement, metal or lead flashing to proof entry points in to cavity walls, cellars and roof spaces.
5. Fix bottom of door ways to houses, offices and garages with reinforced steel to prevent entry of determined rodents, all rodents have two front incisor teeth which are continuously growing and gnawing on material like wood and steel helps keep them at bay.
6. Cut back foliage and overhanging trees to remove easy access for rats into your home.
7. Remove enticing food sources like compost heaps, bird feeders and waste bins to further distances away from the main property.
8. Internally - Check underneath kitchen/bathroom units for entry holes where service pipes enter property and drainage pipes exit. The rats themselves don’t actually enter inside the pipes but usually around the gaps and areas next to the pipes.
9. The Bristol Pest Controller offers not only rapid extermination of rodents in Bristol and surrounding areas but also advises on how to ‘rodent-proof’ your premises so that infestations do not reoccur.
10. We would recommend you always use a professional pest control technician who is qualified with the BPCA (British Pest Control Association).