Why Do Rats Keep Returning to the Same Saint Ives Property?

Of all the reasons a rat problem recurs, this is the most common and the most avoidable. It is also the one people are least likely to be told about at the time.

Two Jobs, Not One

They are separate services and we price them separately on purpose. That is not a way of charging twice — it means you are not paying us for work your own builder could do, and you can see plainly what each half costs.

What Proper Proofing Involves

• Wire wool packed tight and sealed over. The standard for a pipe entry or a small gap — rodents will not gnaw through it
• Metal plate or mesh for larger openings and damaged air bricks
• Proper air brick covers, which are cheap and are the right answer
• Metal or heavy bristle strips on a worn door threshold
• Not expanding foam or sealant on their own. Both are a filler, not a barrier. They have a place finishing a gap already packed with wire wool, and no place on their own

The Order, and Why It Is Not Negotiable

1. Survey — find the activity and the access points.
2. Treat — deal with what is present.
3. Confirm the property is clear.
4. Then proof.

Proofing a building with an active population inside traps rodents in the structure. They gnaw to get out, and an animal that dies in an inaccessible void produces a smell you cannot do much about except wait. That is why proofing is the last step and not the first, however tempting the hole is.

What an Hour Realistically Covers

A typical domestic property with a handful of identified access points is usually dealt with within the hour. A property with extensive gaps or awkward high-level access may take longer, and where more time is needed you are told what is outstanding, what it will take and what it will cost before we carry on.

Work needing scaffolding, roof access or building repairs is not proofing — it is building work, and we will say so rather than charge you by the hour for something we cannot finish.