Rat control in Arnhem: start with the source
Remove only the rat you can see and another often takes its place. That is why we begin by asking how the rats are getting in. Indoors, the answer is usually the sewer: a broken or loose drainpipe under the floor, an old connection that has subsided, or an uncapped rodding point in the crawl space. In the garden it is more often about food and shelter.
If everything points to the drains, we advise a camera survey by a drainage specialist and possibly a rat flap. In the meantime we set locked bait stations or traps along the runs and seal openings in walls and vents. As certified pest controllers we use professional products only in a targeted way and in moderation.
Signs that point to rats
Rats are bigger and warier than mice, but they leave more evidence behind. Look out for the following:
- Droppings that are clearly larger and thicker than mouse droppings, often in one regular spot.
- Dark, greasy smears on edges and along walls they pass again and again.
- Round burrows with loose soil under paving, sheds or a compost heap.
- Gnaw marks on wooden doors, plastic pipes, cables or the wheelie bin.
- Worn tracks in the lawn or along the fence.
Why waiting is a bad idea
Rats breed quickly, and a handful in autumn can be a sizeable group by spring. They gnaw constantly to keep their teeth short, including electrical cables, insulation and water pipes. A chewed cable in a crawl space or cavity wall is a real fire risk.
Rats can also spread diseases, partly through their urine – Weil's disease being the best known. Never touch droppings, nesting material or a dead rat with bare hands, and wash vegetables from the garden thoroughly if rats are about. The sooner the source is found, the smaller the problem stays.
Making your garden less inviting
Rats stay wherever there is food. A few changes remove the main sources:
- Feed birds from a hanging feeder with a tray, and don't scatter bread on the ground.
- Keep chicken feed, rabbit pellets and seed in a metal bin with a lid.
- Use a closed compost bin rather than an open heap, and pick up windfall fruit.
- Keep bins shut and never leave rubbish bags loose outside.
Don't put down loose poison yourself: pets, owls and birds of prey that eat a poisoned rat can be harmed too. Smaller droppings in the kitchen cupboard point to mice instead; in that case, read more about mouse control.
Rats in the street, park or by the water
If you see rats in a green space, near a playground or around the bins on the street, the problem is not yours to solve. Report it to the gemeente Arnhem (the municipality). On your own property – your home, garden or business premises – we can help.
For business owners, landlords and owners' associations, dealing with rats is often a shared effort: one leak in a common drain can affect several buildings. As part of our pest control in Arnhem we then tailor the approach to the whole building or the whole row of houses.
