rat infestation in houses

2 to 3 years???? Don’t hold your breath ……there’s an empty property near us in a dreadful state of neglect…..and the council can’t do a thing! And our town is rife with homeless people.

I think your best bet would be to start a campaign, and get organised. So when something happened in a previous place I lived and the council sat complacently and did nothing, after allowing them a reasonable time to deal with the problem , I decided that the drip drip method would be best. Had a meeting of like minded people and we organised a rota between ourselves, so that at every council meeting there was someone there to bring the subject up. we took it in turns to write to the local paper frequently, visited councillors in their constituencies, wrote letters to surrounding councillors to find out what happened in their area etc etc. Some people dropped out of my group, but others added to it and after about 5 months , when it was seen that we had absolutely no intention of letting the subject go, something was eventually sorted. I am sure that the fact that local elections were coming up had nothing to do with, especially when I said in a letter to the paper that I hoped that they would get their ideas out to constituants quicker than they dealt with this problem, and was it because no one wanted the poison chalice and would hope to lose the election!! Once the problem was sorted, whenever something occured that affected many people such as very badly reset pavements after such as Zoom have been digging it up etc, I or a friend would go to the next big meeting of the council and of course besides asking what was to be done about the situation, we would also say " we hope that it is not going to take as long as the last time" The point of that was to make them aware that we would be repeating the situation and constantly bringing up the subject until it was dealt with. This does not always mean it is sorted a way we would like , but it is not allowed to be just shoved around and ignored.

So in your situation I suggest, if possible try and get some photos of rats etc and any other vermin. Take pictures and note the date on them so that you can show measured deterioration as the time goes on and be able to say they are making it worse by doing nothing. Then contact environmental health and ask them to look at the situation and tell you what the legal situation is regarding them doing nothing even though they are aware of the problem. Look amongst the people who are living very close to this property and see who is classed as vunerable - babies small children elderly ill patients etc. Help these people to get letters from their doctors, hospitals etc explaning how it is making their health worse etc etc. Keep making a note, so you might have a notebook and every friday evening take a picture on your phone, and put in comments regarding how something is worse, how rubbish is now being left there etc etc.All this will be useful ammunition, so that when the council say it is not so bad etc etc, you have the proof of how much worse it is. When they say they havent the money - and I do understand how difficult it is for councils at the moment, but you can show them that again a stitch in time saves nine, and if it is left as it is and you can show how much worse it has become in a set time then they would be saving themselves money by dealing with it NOW!! Good luck and get a group together, the bigger the better as some people will be bound to have to drop out for various reasons.

Is the rubbish food related? I thought that rats are scavengers, and thrive where there is an easy food source, like food waste not covered outside restaurants etc.

Madeleine...yes I don't intend to let it go,I will do everything in my power to make sure i'm heard, I know they want to put us off by saying can't do anything , but as this is a health problem I will keep ( LIKE THE RATS) gnawing away at it

Got this from co-pilot.
"🏠 If an empty house is causing a rat infestation that affects neighbouring properties, the local council in England can intervene under certain legal powers. Here's how it typically works:
🐀 When Councils Can Step In
Local authorities can act if the infestation meets one of these thresholds:
• Statutory Nuisance: If the rats pose a health risk or interfere with the enjoyment of nearby homes, the council can serve a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the owner to take action.
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS): If the infestation creates a hazard under this system, the council can inspect and require remedial work—even in empty properties.
• Public Health Act 1936 or Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949: These laws allow councils to demand that property owners clear infestations and may permit entry if the owner fails to comply.

However how do you know the root of the problem is in the empty house?
Most rats seem to live in the sewers - I think? Look first around your own houses for small round rat-holes in the earth or the ground, where they could be coming up, especially under your bathrooms and kitchen sinks where water exits, or near manholes.

If no signs, then that is one horrible predicament you are in.
I'd get a cat myself.

This sounds really fun

Okay

Emmanual Bar,,,yes it really is fun when you go into your kitchen in the morning to find a large rat on the worktop trying to get into a packet of serial..when you have to spend hours emptying cupboards pulling out cookers washing machines, washing behind them discarding items that they might have touched, before you even think of having breakfast, if by then you even feel like eating...have a nice day

AN41 thanks , we're in Scotland, but as far as I know ,it's the same here...If the owner wont do anything the council can get access and bill the owner, as for the cats...there are 7 cats nearby,,,they must be too well fed to bother with rats.

pably15

there's a private house on our street, it has been empty for months, garden totally overgrown,rubbish lying about. myself and a few of my neighbours have rats,environmental service says council cant do anything about it till it's been empty for 2 or 3 years, because we are not council tennants we have to pay to get the pest control out, which is not a problem, but if the house is just to be left for 2 or 3 years,the rats will be breeding faster than the poison's killing them, has anyone had this problen and how was it solved

A neighbour's privately owned and occupied house had a rat problem , (in his mountain of rubbish) I reported it to Environmental Health and they responded really fast. The rubbish was cleared within days.

I would be tempted to use my time to find dog owners with terriers that are good ratters, rather than waste it on staring a campaign or trying to get the town council to do anything!

Or find adults with gun licences willing to hunt rats.

Poison should be avoided at all costs - the rats become good at avoiding it - those that don't will stink, and birds, squirrels, cats and children are at risk.

pably 15, I had mouse droppings in my kitchen cupboard a couple of years ago, highest shelf holding cereals. I keep cereals etc. only in glass or plastic containers there now as rodents' claws cannot get a grip on them to climb. They had climbed up the outside of an old rough surfaced gas pipe which gave them access to that space. I sprinkled cinnamon as mouse deterrent but I hear lavender repels rats. Since then there is nae a moose in the hoose.
We live next to a nature reserve so get all kinds of critters in our back yards. Crows help to keep the rats down but some people are complaining about the noise the crows make. Can't win.

AN41...I think I'll have to get some large storage jars , lavender, lemon and pepermint and onions are supposed to deter them
the pestman is coming to the house tomorrow, so I hope its byebye rats...

the pest controller has been this morning..he checked the outside of my house and said there's no sign of anywhere that the rats can get in from the outside, he says they must be coming from houses further down by getting under floorboards and up through pipes,,,he put poison down...he's coming back next week to see how much they have eaten. rats seem to be a big problem he's been to entire streets with rat infestations. he told me it had to be a really vicious cat to tackle them, and most cats are too well fed , fingers crossed

Pably 15, it's a wide-spread problem right enough. Let us know how it goes...and good luck!

Have you thought about looking on the Land Registry site and finding out who the owner is, it's not expensive at all?
You could then write explaining the situation and saying if the issue creates any issues for your own / neighbours property, you will hold them liable.

I did this with an empty house behind me....the owner was in the South of the country but did resolve the problem via managing agents.

Dee1012
That's how I found who the owner was , scottish landlord registry post code, number of house and you get her full name and address....she's in Ireland...it did say her registration had been revoked. right next door to the empty house is a council house with a council tennant, I think the council should do something.