If you have pet rats, the domestic kind, you may be of the opinion that they’re intelligent, fun creatures, and by and large the domestic kind are. However, the ones you find in your drains carry disease, and they also carry quite a bite, so it’s therefore sensible to avoid having any contact with them, and to stop them getting into the house at all costs.
What is it you can do to avoid rats and protect your drains from them?
You may not be aware that your drains are linked to the sewers and there’s plenty of rodents down there. As long as your drains work you will be reasonably safe from them entering your premises. Once things go wrong with your drains however, the rats will soon find a way through to your home via their favourite entrance - your toilet.
What are the signs of rodent infestation then?
Well, rat droppings, chew marks in cables and packaging, small holes and scratching noises are some telltale signs of rodent infestation. So look out for these and act as soon as you realise you may have an infestation.
Sealed drainage
Some of the things you can do will protect your home from some unwelcome visitors such as sealed drainage. What this does is ensure no openings are available via the pipework. It will help stop rats entering the sewer so they don't enter your home.
Rodent barriers
You can also invest in rodent barriers which are installed in the pipes, so again, rodents can’t use the drains to enter your home. There are a variety of different types of rodent barriers. These include what’s known as a ‘downward facing fin’ which is placed in what’s known as the ‘discharge stack,’ a one way valve and enlarged sections in the ‘discharge stack,’ this prevents the rats from climbing up.
Intercepting traps
You can also use what’s known as intercepting traps.This is something made from fireclay and is placed in the U bend of a sewer pipe. Other names used are Buchan trap, a Bristol interceptor or a disconnecting trap. However, this type of trap does have it’s disadvantages in that it’s renowned for not working too well, and can also cause blockages.
Covers and gratings
Covers and gratings consist of plastic covers or gratings made of metal that will allow waste to pass through, but stop rats dead in their tracks from going through the pipes. Cages can be placed in the ventilation pipes which will block the route for rats escaping or entering.
East of Scotland Drainage can help remove rats from your drains
We will always remove rats for you if we believe they’re already living in your drains. We make sure that we not only remove them, but make sure they don’t come back. We will also remove them humanely, causing them as little suffering as possible.
CCTV Drain Surveys
We believe it’s important to understand where the rats are coming from if we can do something about it. Like for instance, if they are coming from a crack in one of your pipes, we can seal this up so they don’t try it again. We’re often called to identify where the entry points are and we usually do this by using what we call a ‘CCTV drain survey.’ This is a modern way of looking at the inside of your drains, and it helps us to see exactly what’s going on.
Drainage Repairs From Professionals
By fixing the rat entry points we can repair any racks, holes or tears so rats don’t return and test their luck, and combined with drain covers and gratings, and all the other methods we’ve mentioned above, you have a pretty good chance of preventing them from visiting you again.
East of Scotland Drainage - Professional Drainage Experts
We’re here to help, if you have a rat infestation problem going on, why not contact us and we’ll do all we can to help.