Two different rat problems in one borough
Barking and Dagenham stretches from dense estate streets in the north to old riverside industrial land in the south, and rats behave differently in each. On the Becontree estate, a rat is usually working the rear alleys and back gardens that run behind block after block of near-identical houses. Nearer the Thames, activity is as likely to come from the old Ford Dagenham land or the newer development at Barking Riverside as from anything in a garden.
Rear alleys on the Becontree estate
The estate was built with long back gardens and, in many places, shared alleyways running behind whole terraces of houses. Rats travel these alleys at night largely unseen, moving between gardens, sheds and bin stores, so a rat seen in one garden is often working several neighbours' plots on the same route.
Riverside land near the old Ford site
South of the estate, towards the former Ford Dagenham works and the river, cleared industrial ground and older drainage give rats plenty of cover and food away from any house at all. At Barking Riverside, activity is more often tied to the newer blocks' bin stores and building sites still under construction than to individual flats.
What to do first
- Identify the animal and note where you have seen it, and at what time of day
- Remove food sources: bird feeders, unsecured bins, food left out for other animals
- Book professional treatment instead of leaving poison where children or pets can reach it
- Leave any burrow entrance or hole open until treatment is complete
- Have the route in closed once activity has stopped
Closing the route on a shared terrace
Because so many Becontree houses were built to the same plan, a gap that lets rats into one house often exists in the identical spot next door. Pipework passing between properties and loose airbricks are the usual culprits, and our rodent proofing service deals with these accessible gaps once treatment has cleared the rats already inside.
Booking rat control in Barking and Dagenham
Rat control anywhere in Barking and Dagenham is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house, and because around Barking, where the town centre and streets around Barking station, mentioning that when you book rat control points us towards the likely route in, with the rest of the detail on the Barking and Dagenham rat control page.
