Advice for householders to help avoid problems with rats and mice
Protecting your home and outbuildings
Keep your home in good repair. A juvenile rat needs a gap of only around 15mm to access buildings. Ensure that any larger gaps are sealed or other protected, for example with wire mesh. Seal gaps around heating and water pipes. Check for any holes in your walls or joints, for example vents that are no longer properly protected by a grille or mesh. Further advice is given at Pest advice for controlling Rats (bpca.org.uk)
Keep your garden tidy and clear overgrown areas. Rats and mice prefer to live in areas of overgrown vegetation and will seek out any piles of waste as well as wood piles and any unwanted household furniture, carpets, mattresses etc. which provide good nesting opportunities. If they take hold then they may well try to find ways inside your home too, especially in the winter months.
Keep climbing plants growing up the walls of your home trimmed back below roof height. Rats and mice are good climbers and climbing plants can help them to reach roof level where they may be able to exploit gaps and weak points to secure entry into your roof space. We suggest that climbing plants should be cut back to below eaves / gutter level, ideally three feet below. Similarly, cut back any tree branches closely overhanging your roof.
Underneath garden sheds and decking can be attractive places of shelter for rats to live. Watch out for signs of activity, such as holes / burrows around these. Sheds and decking would ideally be erected on a solid base, such as a concrete slab, to prevent rats tunnelling from underneath. Avoid access beneath decking as far as possible, for example by sealing any gaps which would allow rodents access beneath.
Ensure that drain covers are in place, in good repair, and any disused pipes are sealed off. This will help prevent rats coming from the sewers and accessing your home and garden.