Cut the food, find the way in, treat, then close it. In an older property the way in is usually an airbrick or a drain, and both are checkable in ten minutes.
Remove the food source, find the entry point, treat, then proof.
Treatment is £240 house, £190 flat. Proofing is £180. In an older property, start by looking at the airbricks — it is the commonest route by a distance.
Ten minutes, free, and on an older Pinner property it very often finds the answer.
A rat needs a gap of about 25mm — roughly a fifty-pence piece. A cracked airbrick easily provides one.
See our full rat control service, published prices and what treatment involves in an older property.
View Rat Control Pinner →Professional treatment covers the property properly, including the subfloor void where there is access, and continues across follow-up visits until it stops. Tell us about pets and children — it changes placement, not price.
Small-hole proofing in suitable materials, up to an hour. On an older property this usually means the airbricks and low-level gaps, and it is what stops it recurring.
Read nextRat Treatment and Proofing Prices in Pinner – What Does Each Cost? →Worth its own section on a period property, because the obvious fix is the wrong one.
The commonest DIY mistake on an older house is cementing up the airbricks. It stops the rats and starts the rot.
Glue traps are restricted in England and their use by the general public is prohibited. They are also indiscriminate and inhumane — they catch pets, birds and hedgehogs. We do not use them.
Droppings settle it. Rat droppings are 12–18mm and tapered; mouse droppings 3–6mm, about a grain of rice.
Not while there is food and shelter, and a subfloor void provides excellent shelter.
Two to three weeks typically, longer where drainage is involved.
Different problem, same fixed pricing — wasp nests are £90 in Pinner, guaranteed for 30 days.
Remove the food source, find the entry point, treat, then proof. In an older property, start with the airbricks.
The airbricks. Walk the perimeter at low level and look at every one — cracked, broken or missing is a way in.
About 25mm — roughly a fifty-pence piece. A cracked airbrick easily provides one.
No. They ventilate the subfloor, and sealing them causes damp and rot. They need meshing from behind, which keeps the ventilation.
Usually yes — meshed from behind rather than replaced. Replacing it with a modern plastic one may not be appropriate on a listed building or in a conservation area.
Older clay runs crack over decades and give rats a direct route from the sewer. It needs a drainage contractor and usually a camera survey.
No. They are restricted in England, their use by the general public is prohibited, and they are indiscriminate and inhumane.
No — dampen them first rather than raising dust, and wear gloves and a mask in a cellar or subfloor.
Walk the perimeter and look at the airbricks. That ten minutes often finds it.
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