Rat control in Amersfoort: signs that rats are around
Brown rats are wary and seldom show themselves during the day. Their traces are clear enough once you know where to look, and usually several of these turn up together:
- droppings over a centimetre long, often in small groups along a wall
- dark, greasy smear marks where they keep running along the same edge
- round burrow entrances a few centimetres wide in a border, under a shed or beside the patio
- gnaw marks on bin bags, wooden doors, cables or pipes
- scratching and shuffling under the floor or above a suspended ceiling
Where do the rats come from?
In and around homes, the sewer is often the way in. A broken house connection, a pipe that has come loose in the crawl space or a drain without a cover is an open door for a rat. Rats that turn up under the floor or inside a cavity wall rarely arrived through the front door. Outdoors they head for food and shelter: chicken runs, rabbit hutches, birdseed dropped on the ground, an open compost heap or log piles against the fence.
Rats can spread diseases such as Weil's disease, and their gnawing on electrical cables can be dangerous. Waiting only lets the problem grow.
Our rat control: find the source, seal it, then treat
It starts with detective work. We follow the traces from the garden or crawl space back to where the rats are getting in. If everything points to the sewer, we recommend a camera inspection by a drainage specialist and a rat flap (rattenklep) fitted in the drain, so rats can no longer pass through. Holes in the foundations, the crawl space and around pipes are sealed with material rats cannot gnaw through.
Then we treat the rats in a targeted way with traps or locked bait stations. Professional rodenticides belong only in the hands of certified pest controllers. A follow-up visit shows whether any activity is left.
What you can do yourself
Take away the food and much of the attraction goes with it. Feed birds from a bird table and sweep up spilt seed, don't leave bin bags standing outside for days and use a closed compost bin. Chickens and rabbits are best fed during the day only, and a bowl of pet food should not stay outdoors overnight.
We advise against putting down poison yourself or filling in burrows: rats simply dig a new exit, and a poisoned animal may be eaten by a dog or a bird of prey. Hearing gnawing indoors and wondering whether it might be mice instead? Read more about mouse control.
Rats in public spaces
If you see rats in a park, along the waterside or by the communal bins in your street, the solution lies beyond your own property. Report it to the municipality, the gemeente Amersfoort. If they are in your garden, shed or home, we are happy to help. For VvEs (owners' associations) and businesses with several buildings, we look at the whole site, as rats pay no attention to property boundaries. Dealing with a different pest altogether? Take a look at our pest control in Amersfoort.
