Rats in your drains is an issue on the rise which every prospective new homeowner needs to know.
Imagine this: you walk into your dream house, with freshly painted walls and a garden that is ideal for summer barbecues. Everything looks so nice and clean on the surface, but beneath it lays a terrible damage knocking silently at the door of your investment.
Just under the floors and behind walls lie the drains – an aspect easily overlooked – which have a potential to turn your fairy tale abode into a nightmare.
Little creatures known as rats may be making babies while nesting in your drainage system’s dark wet spaces causing havoc without notice before dawn breaks.
It is therefore imperative for you as a potential property buyer to know that one of the biggest threats facing your investment and safety is rats getting into the drains.
How Rats Get Inside Houses Through Their Drains
These rodents are ingenious as well adaptable hence they can go through openings as small as 15mm diameter making it possible for them even to intrude in your house through that narrowest crevice in the drain pipe
Great Britain, with its rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, providing miles upon miles connected sewers builds an excellent habitat for rats. This happens mainly within drainage systems because they can find food, water along with shelter there and thereby finding peace there.
Once they penetrate into a building, their destructions can be significant damaging such things as pipes, wires insulation among other things used for constructions.
Rats make up 45% of all UK pest control calls, according to a 2019 study by Rentokil, and are regularly found in drainage systems. With teeth capable of exerting a pressure of 12 tons per square meter, rats can gnaw through almost anything including concrete, wood or plastic which they may find hard to get into another way. This gnawing behavior often results in invisible leaks, floods , electrical fires as well as compromised structural integrity especially when it involves large buildings.
The Damage Caused by Rats in Houses
A rat-infested drain system is not only a freeway to help them move without being noticed, but also results in severe damages on the drainage pipes. When they chew on PVC pipes and even metallic ones, it leads to cracks and blockages respectively. Subsequently, these problems result into water damages within house walls and foundations; hence expensive repairs would be needed eventually.
A report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) states that water damage is among the leading causes of home insurance claims, costing UK citizens about £1.8million daily.
Further, rats pose health risks aside from causing structural impairments. This means that water gets infected by their urine, fur or droppings causing diseases like leptospirosis; when it becomes severe it may lead to liver or kidney ailments in humans. Moreover rats usually harbor pests such as fleas and mites which could spread over various parts of the house initiating additional infestations as well as complications
This could become quite a challenge for first-time home buyers when rats infest their drainage systems because they normally are not inspected during property purchase leaving unbudgeted for costs and health hazards. Yet minor issues with mice might quickly get out of control increasing both financial liability for the owner accompanied by personal security risks.
How to Protect Your New Property Against Rats in your drains
Nonetheless, rats can be unseen foes that you could deal with before they amount to a big issue; if only certain actions were taken in time. Therefore if somebody purchases an older structure, or one from areas prone to rat menace, then it would be good to check the drains more regularly. In view of this, investing in an integrated drainage survey should enable you detect any weak points within your drainage system that need fixing prior to their invasion by rats.
YourDrainExperts specialize in CCTV drain surveys across Surrey which offer intricate examinations of your properties’ drainage systems. This system makes it possible for us to locate possible rat passages besides detecting existing infestation signs This way our drain surveyor will not only help you find the possible entry points but also identify any damage thus ensuring safety of your new home.
What Should A Homeowner Do If Rats Are Found In Their House?
As soon as you discover that rats have invaded your drainage system, it becomes imperative that immediate initiatory measures aimed at ensuring no further damages are done on the premises taken. The gaps used by the rats should be sealed while broken tubes mended with rat flaps placed so as to prevent them from roaming everywhere in the water pipes.
There are professional pest control service providers, like our friends at Destrodent, who can help get rid of these creatures once and for all but an ongoing maintenance coupled with surveys of your drains will see them completely eradicated thereby being kept away. By working with YourDrainExperts we will manage this situation before the problem becomes too expensive.
In Conclusion
The UK homes are under threat from rats in the drains, an unseen but significant menace especially to prospective buyers. They cause damage to structures, contaminate clean water in the process and have health implications on their presence yet they live under you feet without being seen. Before you sign any agreements on purchasing a new house, make sure that a thorough check on the drainage system is made. A comprehensive CCTV drain survey can provide peace of mind and prevent unforeseen expenses along the way.
So, are you going to take those necessary steps in protecting your home against these hidden dangers that lay below?
