On a large plot backing onto green space, some rat activity in the garden is close to inevitable. The useful question is whether it is heading for the house.
Remove what is feeding them, then decide whether it needs treating. A rat passing along a boundary is different from a burrow under your decking.
If there is any sign inside the house, treat. £240 for the house programme. If it is confined to the garden and you back onto open ground, deal with the food and proof the building.
| Source | How significant |
|---|---|
| Bird feeders and spilled seed | The most common cause we find |
| Compost with cooked food, meat or dairy | Very significant |
| Chicken or rabbit feed | Very significant |
| Pet food or a bowl left out overnight | Significant |
| Unsecured bins, or bags left beside them | Significant |
| Windfall fruit from established trees | Moderate — larger gardens often have several |
| A pond, water feature or leaking tap | Water rather than food, and it matters |
| Food left in a garden office or summerhouse | Moderate, and frequently overlooked |
See our full rat control service, published prices and what treatment involves on a larger property.
View Rat Control Stanmore →Specific to Stanmore, and it changes the honest advice.
Nobody with a garden backing onto Stanmore Common is going to have a rat-free hedge line. That is not the standard to hold yourself to.
Rat runs follow edges. Look along the base of fences, walls and hedge lines for smooth, flattened tracks.
We will tell you which situation you appear to be in. Removing the food source resolves a good proportion of garden rat enquiries without a treatment.
Read nextHow Do You Get Rid of Rats at a Stanmore Property? →Whatever is happening in the garden, this part is entirely within your control.
Garden and property are treated as one job at the house price. Proofing is separate because not every property needs it — though most on a green-space boundary do.
One seen usually means more present. Rats are not solitary and are mostly nocturnal, so daylight sightings suggest numbers.
Not as a solution — they reopen it or dig another. It is useful as a test of whether it is active.
A cat may catch a young rat. It will not clear a population, and an adult rat is more than most cats want.
Ground-nesting wasps turn up in the same banks and borders — £90 fixed cost in Stanmore, guaranteed for 30 days.
Remove what is feeding them, then decide whether it needs treating. Any sign inside the house means treat.
Bird feeders and the seed spilled underneath them.
Yes. There is a permanent population beyond the fence and occasional boundary activity is not a sign of a problem. What matters is whether it is coming further in.
An active burrow is about 6–9cm across, smooth and clear of cobwebs, with a fan of soil outside. Block it loosely and see if it is reopened overnight.
Any sign inside the house, burrows near the house or under decking, daylight sightings, droppings in outbuildings, or activity increasing week on week.
Loose poison outdoors is available to foxes, hedgehogs, owls and raptors, directly or through a poisoned rat. Professional placement uses tamper-resistant stations.
Repair airbricks, seal pipe penetrations, fit brush strips, check the extension join and drainage, and cut back branches touching the roof.
Not as a solution — they reopen it or dig another. It is useful as a test of whether it is active.
Tell us what is in the garden and what is beyond the fence. That is usually where the answer is.
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