£180 for up to an hour of small-hole proofing. When the source is on someone else's property, this is the only part of the job you fully control.
Suitable small-hole proofing in appropriate materials, for up to one hour — airbricks, pipe penetrations, threshold gaps, extension joins, cable and meter box entries.
It does not cover building work, drainage repairs or roof-level work. Where a defect needs more than that, we tell you what it needs rather than doing half a job.
Treatment removes the rats present. If the reason they came is on a neighbouring property, a shared drain, or behind a parade of shops, you cannot remove that — but you can close your own building.
If your neighbour will not deal with their side, proofing is not a consolation prize. It is the only measure that works without their cooperation.
The wrong material is why DIY proofing usually fails against rats — they gnaw.
| Material | Works? |
|---|---|
| Wire wool packed tight, capped with filler | Yes — the standard fix |
| Appropriate metal mesh at an airbrick | Yes |
| Metal or purpose-made brush strip | Yes |
| Cement or mortar at a suitable gap | Yes |
| Expanding foam on its own | No — rats gnaw straight through |
| Filler on its own | No — same reason |
| Plastic, tape or timber board | No |
See our full rat control service, published prices and what treatment involves.
View Rat Control Edgware →In older Edgware housing a defective or shared drain is one of the commonest rat routes, and it is the one most often missed.
Blocking an airbrick solid is worth naming as a mistake: it ventilates the subfloor, and sealing it causes damp.
Proofing is what reduces repeat call-outs. A property that has had treatment three years running has an open route nobody has closed — and where the source is a neighbouring garden or a shared drain, that route is the only thing you can act on.
We tell you exactly what we closed and what remains open. We cannot guarantee a defect we could not reach or one that appears later.
For a typical property with several small gaps, usually. If it is not, we tell you what is left.
Yes, where there is no current activity inside.
Proofing keeps wasps out of a soffit too — and a live nest is £90 fixed in Edgware, guaranteed.
Suitable small-hole proofing in appropriate materials for up to one hour — airbricks, pipe penetrations, threshold gaps, extension joins and cable entries.
Because you control your own structure and not your neighbour's garden. It is the only measure that works without their cooperation.
Wire wool packed tight and capped with filler, metal mesh at an airbrick, a metal brush strip, or cement at a suitable gap. Expanding foam or filler alone does not — rats gnaw through.
Proofing cannot fix a defective drain. It needs a drainage contractor and usually a camera survey, and shared or lateral drains are frequently the water company's responsibility.
After. Proofing first can seal rats inside the structure.
No. It ventilates the subfloor and sealing it causes damp. It needs meshing, not filling.
Structural building work, drainage repairs, roof-level work, and anything beyond an hour — though we tell you what remains.
Usually. £180 once tends to be cheaper than £240 repeatedly.
£180 for up to an hour. If the source is next door, this is the part you can actually control.
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