Rat Control

Two species of rat cause concern in the UK, and identifying which species you are dealing with helps determine the most effective treatment approach.

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus): The brown rat is the dominant species across the UK and the only rat species found in UK sewers. Adults grow up to 40cm in length (including the tail, which is shorter than the head and body combined) and weigh between 350 and 500g. They have a blunt nose, small ears, and a thick, heavy body. Brown rats are omnivorous, preferring cereals but eating around 30g of food per day and drinking up to 60ml of water. They are ground dwellers that prefer to burrow, commonly found near or beneath solid structures such as sheds, garages, decking, and foundations. Gestation is approximately 3 weeks, producing 7 to 8 young per litter with 3 to 6 litters per year. They reach sexual maturity in 10 to 12 weeks.

Black Rat (Rattus rattus): The black rat, also known as the roof rat or ship rat, is rare in the UK and now largely confined to port areas. Adults are smaller than the brown rat, measuring 16 to 24cm in body length with a tail that is longer than the head and body combined. They weigh 150 to 200g and have a pointed nose, large thin ears, and a slender build. Black rats prefer moist fruits, eating around 15g per day and drinking just 15ml. They are excellent climbers and are typically found at height, nesting in lofts, roof spaces, and upper floors rather than at ground level. Gestation is approximately 3 weeks, producing 5 to 10 young per litter with 3 to 6 litters per year. They reach sexual maturity in 12 to 16 weeks.

How to tell them apart: The simplest identification clues are tail length (brown rat's tail is shorter than its body; black rat's tail is longer), ear size (brown rat has small ears; black rat has large, prominent ears), and body shape (brown rat is stocky; black rat is slender). In the North East, the overwhelming majority of rat call-outs involve the brown rat.

Rat infestations develop through three stages: attraction, entry, and establishment.

Rats are drawn by accessible food (unsecured bins, open compost, spilled bird seed, pet food left outdoors), shelter and warmth (clutter, woodpiles, overgrown vegetation), and water sources (leaking pipes, standing water in gutters). Brown rats drink around 60ml of water per day.

A rat can squeeze through a gap as small as 20mm, roughly the size of a 20 pence coin. They enter through cracks in foundations, gaps around utility pipes and cables, damaged air bricks, and loose roofing. Brown rats commonly travel through sewer and drainage pipes, entering properties via damaged waste connections. If a gap is too small, rats will gnaw it wider through wood, plastic, or plaster.

Once inside, rats nest in quiet, dark spaces and begin breeding rapidly. A female can produce up to 12 pups per litter with multiple litters per year. The colony establishes greasy travel paths between nesting and feeding areas, and signs become increasingly obvious as the population grows.

Inside your property: Lofts and attic spaces (look for shredded insulation and droppings), kitchens and laundry rooms (behind cookers, washing machines, and dishwashers), gaps where pipework or cables enter from outside, crawlspaces, suspended ceilings, and cavity walls.

Outside your property: Decking edges (gnawing and burrowing damage), sheds and outbuildings (rat holes along edges and walls), garages (gaps around door frames), compost bins (holes and gnaw marks), overgrown vegetation, and around drain covers. Look for burrows with smooth, worn entrances and loose dirt fanned outward, and narrow worn pathways (rat runs) along walls and fences.

Autumn (September to November) - Peak period: This is when rat call-outs surge across the North East. As temperatures drop, rats that have been foraging outdoors all summer move into buildings seeking warmth, shelter, and food. Watch for scratching sounds in walls and lofts at night, fresh droppings along skirting boards and behind appliances, and gnaw marks on cables or pipework. Properties near farmland, waterways, and older drainage systems in Hartlepool, Sunderland, and North Shields are particularly vulnerable during this period.

Winter (December to February) - Established colonies: Rats that entered during autumn are now breeding indoors. Cavity walls, lofts, and spaces near heating pipes are favoured nesting sites. Watch for a strong ammonia smell in enclosed areas, greasy rub marks along walls and joists where rats follow the same routes, and increasing gnaw damage to stored items, insulation, and wiring. A small autumn entry left untreated can become a serious infestation by January.

Spring (March to May) - Breeding accelerates: Rising temperatures trigger larger and more frequent litters. Outdoor burrow systems expand in gardens and around outbuildings. Watch for new burrow holes (roughly 6 to 9cm across) appearing in garden borders, compost areas, and near sheds. This is an important period for commercial clients to schedule preventative monitoring before populations grow further.

Summer (June to August) - Outdoor activity peaks: Rats are most active outdoors during summer, foraging around bins, compost heaps, allotments, and along waterways. Indoor call-outs are at their lowest. Watch for outdoor sightings at dusk near food waste areas and runs through vegetation. This is the best window for rodent proofing - seal gaps around pipework, fit brush strips to doors, and repair drain defects while rats are outside and entry points are not actively in use.

North East pressure points: Properties near the River Tees, River Wear, and coastal infrastructure experience higher rat pressure year-round. Rural properties on the edges of Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Durham, and Newcastle also see elevated autumn ingress as rats move from harvested fields into buildings. If your property is in a high-risk area, a summer proofing survey is the most cost-effective step you can take.

Beyond the three most commonly referenced diseases (Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, and Hantavirus), rats carry a wider range of disease-causing organisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic worms. They also act as vectors for diseases through ectoparasites such as fleas, ticks, lice, and mites.

• Rat-Bite Fever: Caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis and Spirillum minus. Transmitted through bites, scratches, or contact with contaminated food and water. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, and rash. Treatable with antibiotics but requires prompt medical attention.
• Weil's Disease: A severe form of Leptospirosis that occurs in approximately 10% of cases. It can result in organ failure, internal bleeding, jaundice, and death. Weil's disease requires urgent hospital treatment including ventilation, dialysis, and intravenous antibiotics. The bacteria are spread through contact with water or soil contaminated by rat urine.
• Rat Tapeworm: Hymenolepis nana and H. diminuta. Transmitted through food or water contaminated with rat or beetle faeces. Can cause abdominal pain, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, and restlessness. More serious in children than adults.
• Tularemia: Caused by Francisella tularensis, one of the most infectious diseases known. Transmitted through contact with infected animals, contaminated food or water, and tick or flea bites.
• Toxoplasmosis: Caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Rodents are intermediate hosts, passing the parasite to cats which then infect humans through faeces. Poses particular risk to pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

How rodent diseases are transmitted: Inhalation or direct contact with rodent urine, faeces, or saliva. Handling or inhaling particles from contaminated materials (hay, woodpiles, compost heaps). Sweeping or disturbing rodent-infested spaces, which can aerosolise harmful particles. Bites and scratches from rodents. Contaminated food or drinking water. Ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, mites) carrying pathogens between rodents and humans. Pets eating infected rodents and passing parasites such as tapeworms to their owners.

Tamper-resistant bait stations are a cornerstone of professional rodent control, designed to keep staff, customers, children, pets, and non-target wildlife safe while remaining fully legally compliant. Every bait station we deploy is labelled and tracked as part of your site documentation.

Plastic bait stations: Manufactured in tough polypropylene with a secure single lock. Can be fixed to a wall or the ground and tested to withstand a pull weight in excess of 30kg. Suitable for all weather conditions. Recommended for external areas not generally accessible to the public.

Metal bait stations: Manufactured in zinc-coated steel with polyester powder coating to resist corrosion. Secured with a unique key lock and tamper-resistant to kicking and heavy loads, staying locked under a vertical load of up to 350kg. Suitable for all weather conditions. Recommended for high-risk areas used by the general public, children, and non-target wildlife.

Both station types protect your business against litigation, lost profits, and reputational damage. They ensure rodent control complies with Health and Safety regulations, demonstrate due diligence for audits and inspections, and comply with the CRRU Code of Best Practice.

If you have booked a rat control visit, there are a few practical steps you can take beforehand to help your technician work more effectively.

• Secure food sources: Store all food in sealed, hard-sided containers. Move pet food bowls and bird feeders indoors or into a sealed space. Empty and clean kitchen bins.
• Photograph evidence: Take photographs of any droppings, gnaw marks, rub marks, or damage you have found. Note the locations. This helps the technician build a picture of activity patterns before the survey begins.
• Note sounds and timings: If you are hearing scratching or movement in walls, lofts, or under floors, make a note of where the sounds come from and at what time. Rats are mostly active between dusk and dawn, and the location of sounds helps narrow down nesting sites.
• Do not block entry holes: It is tempting to stuff gaps with wire wool or foam, but doing this before treatment can trap rats inside wall cavities or lofts, making the problem worse. Your technician will advise on proofing after the treatment programme is underway.
• Keep children and pets away from droppings: Rat droppings and urine carry disease. Do not attempt to sweep or vacuum droppings without wearing gloves and a dust mask, as disturbing dried droppings can release harmful particles into the air.
• Clear access to key areas: Move stored items away from walls in lofts, garages, and outbuildings so the technician can inspect behind and beneath them. Ensure access to the loft hatch is clear.

These steps are not essential for the visit to go ahead, but they help us identify the problem faster and start treatment sooner.

Understanding what happens between visits helps you get the best results from your treatment programme and avoid common mistakes.

• Continued activity is normal: You may continue to see signs of rat activity for 7 to 14 days after the first treatment. Anticoagulant rodenticides require multiple feeds over several days before taking effect. Continued activity during this period does not mean the treatment is failing.
• Do not move bait stations: Bait stations remain in place between visits. Do not move, open, or tamper with them. Their positions are chosen based on the survey findings and rat travel routes.
• Dead rats between visits: Dead rats may be found in accessible areas between visits. Report these to your technician so they can be safely removed and the activity pattern updated.
• Odour from inaccessible spaces: If a rat dies inside a wall cavity, under a floor, or in another inaccessible space, a decomposition odour may persist for several weeks. This is unpleasant but not a health risk. Professional odour-neutralisation products are available if needed.
• Act on proofing recommendations: Once the treatment programme is complete, acting promptly on the technician's proofing recommendations is the single most important step to prevent re-infestation. Sealing entry points stops new rats from following the same routes.

Your technician will check bait take, monitor for continued activity, and adjust the treatment at each follow-up visit. Most programmes are completed within 3 to 4 visits over 2 to 4 weeks.

The safety of your family and pets is built into every stage of our rat control process.

All rodenticide is placed inside tamper-resistant bait stations that are designed to prevent access by children, pets, and non-target wildlife. These stations are locked, anchored in position, and cannot be opened without a specialist key. All bait we use contains Bitrex, a powerful bittering agent that deters accidental consumption by humans and animals.

However, there is a secondary poisoning risk during the treatment period. Dogs, cats, foxes, and birds of prey can be affected if they consume a rodent that has ingested rodenticide. To minimise this risk, we recommend the following precautions during your treatment programme.

• Keep pets away from bait station locations and inform all household members where stations are placed.
• Monitor pets closely, particularly dogs that may pick up dead rodents outdoors.
• Seek immediate veterinary advice if you suspect your pet has ingested bait or consumed a dead rodent during the treatment period.
• Tell children not to touch bait stations. The tamper-resistant design provides strong protection, but awareness is important.
• Do not attempt to sweep or vacuum rat droppings without gloves and a dust mask, as airborne particles can carry disease.

All our rodenticide use follows CRRU (Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use) guidelines to minimise risk to non-target wildlife and the wider environment.