A rat in the garden is a rat that has found food within about fifty metres. The useful question is not whether you have rats — it is whose food they are eating.
From a food source and a harbourage within roughly fifty metres — often not on your own property.
Bird feeders, compost with food waste, pet or chicken feed, unsecured bins, and commercial waste storage are the usual causes. Decking, sheds and overgrown corners provide the shelter.
| 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 |
| Commercial waste storage behind a parade | Very significant |
| Windfall fruit from an apple or pear tree | Moderate |
| A neglected or vacant plot nearby | Moderate |
A rat will travel to food. The presence of rats in your garden tells you there is a source nearby — it does not tell you the source is yours.
See our full rat control service, published prices and what treatment involves.
View Rat Control Edgware →Rat runs follow edges. Look along the base of fences and walls for smooth, flattened tracks in the grass or soil.
A fair question, and the answer is not automatically yes.
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 an Edgware Property? →We cannot treat a garden we have no permission to enter. What we can do is document what we found on yours, clearly enough that someone else has to take it seriously.
A garden rat becomes a house rat through a gap of about 25mm. Whatever is happening outside, this part is yours.
Garden and property are treated as one job at the house price. Proofing is separate because not every property needs it.
One seen usually means more present. Rats are not solitary and are mostly nocturnal, so daylight sightings suggest numbers.
A cat may catch a young rat. It will not clear a population, and an adult rat is more than most cats want.
Not as a solution — they simply reopen it or dig another. It is useful as a test of whether it is active.
Ground-nesting wasps turn up in the same gardens — £90 fixed cost in Edgware, guaranteed.
A food source and shelter within roughly fifty metres — often not on your own property.
Bird feeders and the seed spilled underneath them.
An active burrow is about 6–9cm across, smooth and clear of cobwebs, with a fan of soil outside. Block it loosely with soil and see if it is reopened overnight.
Not automatically. Burrows on your property, daylight sightings, or any sign inside the house are worth acting on. Occasional activity that stops when a feeder comes down often is not.
Start with a conversation, then put it in writing. Proof your own property, since that is within your control.
A neglected property is a matter for Barnet Council; a commercial waste area is the business's own legal responsibility.
Repair airbricks, seal pipe penetrations, fit brush strips to external doors, and check where an extension meets the original house.
A cat may catch a young rat but will not clear a population.
Tell us what is in the garden — yours and next door's. That is usually where the answer is.
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