Hey everyone, hope you’ve had a good week! This week is a bit more of an advanced identification and repair, but if you’re a little bit savvy when it comes to DIY and can get to grips with most things I’m almost certain most of this will make sense. As always, if you get stuck, just call us.
So lets talk about the crappy end of the house (pun intended).
The first thing I want to say is that Rats live in the sewers, they always will, there is no easy way to completely eradicate them from there but as long as they don’t find their way into your home, I say leave them in there, someone’s got to live down there and rather them that me!
So many times when we go to houses with Rat infestations, if the point of entry isn’t obvious then we start looking outside the box (or house). The drains are a common source.
Drains, once installed are often just forgotten about until you have an issue but if you have a quick look every now and again then you might just be able to spot a problem, or potential problem before it starts!
Below are a couple of images from a repair we completed just this week where the Rats had seen a small crack in a brick in one of the inspection chambers and had chewed a big hole and then tunnelled out of the chamber into the foundation of the neighbouring property and straight into the house. Very common indeed.
So what do we look for? The only thing that should be in your drains are the things you flush down the toilet so if you can see anything else like stones, mud piled up on the benching or in the channel or if the drains are backed up or have slow moving flow then this might be the first step to identifying a problem. The majority of drain problems are not something your average home owner wants to get involved in themselves so I wont spend a lot of time talking about repairs. And we would always recommend that you not only repair the drain defect, but in the case below treat the borrows with a rodenticide before sealing them up to stop the holes just being chewed back open from the other side of the repair if rodents are nesting there.
The other place to look is the inspection chamber lid. The lid should be tightly fitted, sealed well all the way round and there should be no cracks or holes in the cement around the chamber opening. If there is, cement them back in to stop rodents being able to access the areas above ground.
For a more in depth look into the drains you should always contact a professional pest controller that deals with rodents in drains and/or a drain company if the pest controller does not have a CCTV unit for detailed drain surveys.
We have been completing drain repairs for over 15 years and the majority of them are simple and actually not as expensive as you might first think, you just need someone who knows their way around the sewers!
So this week is more of a quick look into the world of sewers as oppose to how to get it done yourself, but its a very quick and easy way of self identification and maybe a way to potentially stop a problem before it starts.
I hope you found this week useful, we’re always around for help and advice should you need it so don’t hesitate to contact us.
All the best, Dan – Killer Instinct
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