Rats are digging under the concrete &have chewed through the top of the wavin manhole

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wino

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Hi,

I have found a hole in the garden beside the path which has the sewer inspection manhole.

Rats are digging under the concrete and have chewed through the top of the wavin manhole which gives them access to the sewers.

I plugged up a previous redundant pipe in the manhole which had been used by them for quite some time. I have plugged this new tunnel and hole with broken glass and concrete and don't particularly want to put traps or poison down because of my young children. I fear I may have a battle on my hands.


Any advise would be much appreciated.

Wino
 
hi . I am not 100% sure but I think in some cases the local council will
sort out problem with rats otherwise you should get a pest controller. These could end up biting one of your children or worse still getting into your house then problem will be much worse. Good Luck
 
Poison is probably your only answer - they can be very dangerous if they are around where people generally go - Weils disease etc.
 
Thank you all for your replys, yes I am conscious of how this needs to be sorted quickly, no sign of them this morning. My next job will be to put a lid of some sort over the inspection hole to stop the rats getting in or out of the sewer, possibly with a mix of cement and glass. If that doesn't work I will get in the professionals. (that's not the moggies, clonboy)

Thanks again
 
Get a piece of 4" wavin, cut a 12 " length, get double sided tape (carpet tape is best) and put in center of the pipe. On the tape put 1/2 a tab of STORM. Put a large screw at either end of the pipe about an inch in. (screw it through the wall of the pipe), This will stop a larger animal (cat or dog) getting at the poison.

Place the pipe against a wall near the hole where the rats are comming from and partially cover. The kids should not see it.

Check on the poison after a few days.

Do not block the hole for a couple of days. You want the rats to take the poison home with them.


Reminds me of an incident a couple of years ago where a polish couple were renting a flat with their 3 year old. They had a rat problem in their kitchen. The rat was coming in under the sink and strolling around the place larger than life.
The husband got some expanding foam and blocked the hole. He then put down rat poison.

A few days went by when the landlord got a phone call from a hysterical woman screaming in Polish. The landlord could not understand what she was saying, so he went down to the house.

During the night previous, the couple heard the usual noises coming from the kitchen, they were disappointed tothink that the rat(s) were still alive or still getting into the flat. However, they realised that light was also coming from the kitchen - they always locked the door.

Mariusz (the hubby) got out of bed to see what was going on. The 3 year old was on her hunkers sharing her biscuit with the rat who was eating it out of her hand.
 
Thanks for that Computerman,

my concern is that by putting poison down, will the rats die in the sewer and block the drains or not wishing to sound too squeamish, will I find myself emptying the wavin pipe of dead rats on a regular basis?
I am touched by your more humane side but I don't think my wife would appreciate having a pet Rat!
 
computerman said:
Get a piece of 4" wavin, cut a 12 " length, get double sided tape (carpet tape is best) and put in center of the pipe. On the tape put 1/2 a tab of STORM. Put a large screw at either end of the pipe about an inch in. (screw it through the wall of the pipe), This will stop a larger animal (cat or dog) getting at the poison.

Place the pipe against a wall near the hole where the rats are comming from and partially cover....
Click to expand...

I used a slight variation on the wavin pipe idea when the buggers were paying a a visit to my composting bins last year. Bold as brass they were. It worked - no problems since.
 
Wino, the poison does not act immediatly, as far as I can remember it thins the blood and makes them thirsty, so they head for water and drink and drink and drink......

The idea is that they munch, and head back to the nest hopefully bringing some back for their little babies :)

In my experience you never get one rat on its own.
 
I agree with the above poster. Get a jack russell they are brilliant 'ratters' Maybe give a dog a second chance and go to the pound or rescue centres or look on ads on internet for people who need to rehome their dogs. They make wonderful companions too and would be great for your kids to grow up with.
 
I have had a rat in the garden a couple of times and just put down a rat trap. On both occasions I was rewarded with a dead rat. I found the entry point under the gate and closed it up - no more rats. I would be very cautious laying poison, especially with children around. Of course, take precautions if you lay a trap, as rat traps are pretty lethal things. If you don' t have a cat, borrow one from a neighbour for a few hours and see if she comes up with anything. I wouldn't worry about rats 'biting' children as they are very shy and cautious creatures but I would worry about Weils disease and the risk of poison.
 
Our catwill only catch mice/birds if she is in the mood. I have seen her sit while a mouse walked past her - she yawn'd.

I would presume most cats are the same. I would also presume that there is a possibility of a rat doing a little damage to a cat.

I would assume that if I got a loan of a cat or dog to catch a rat, the likely hood is that the rat would stay in its nest till the cat/dog went away.

Also what is to stop the cat leaving the second you put it in the garden?
 
bogle said:
I used a slight variation on the wavin pipe idea when the buggers were paying a a visit to my composting bins last year. Bold as brass they were. It worked - no problems since.
Click to expand...

do you put cooked stuff in your compost bin? I heard that attracted rats, we only put in raw peelings etc, and to date (thankfully) haven't had any issues with rats.
 
No, I don't have a compost bin, I think the rats have been using this hole in the sewer for a long time, possibly before I bought the house and have gotten used this this route. No sign of any disturbance this morning but I will check out poisons and other deterrents over the weekend. I don't think borrowing a cat would work, the only thing I'd be sure of there is that they would soil my vegtable plot.
 
wishbone said:
do you put cooked stuff in your compost bin? I heard that attracted rats, we only put in raw peelings etc, and to date (thankfully) haven't had any issues with rats.
Click to expand...

Nope - mainly uneaten fruit & vegetables, peelings etc and the like. They borrowed down underneath the bottom edge of the bins and right up through the center of the compost to get at the "freshest" stuff at the top. I filled in their tunnels a few times but they always dug new ones. A neighbor told me about the wavin pipe idea - and it worked. Some people suggest sitting the bins on a wire mesh to keep them out. One thing to remember is that if you think rats have been in your compost they will have also sh?t and p?ssed in it and you should always wear gloves and don't handle it with bare hands.
 
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