Rats
Where Rats Appear Around a Colindale Block
Why cleared land and excavations next door can push rats towards finished buildings is covered on Pest Control Colindale. This page is about what happens once they arrive: which parts of a modern block they use, what you are likely to find, and who is responsible for each part.
The bin store
A bin room is the one place in a block with food in it every night. Doors get propped open while people carry bags down, bags are left on the floor when the containers are full, and a gap under a worn door seal is enough for a rat to walk in. Droppings along the wall, torn bags and a greasy mark at the foot of the door are the usual signs. The bin store is a communal area, so it is the managing agent who should arrange treatment there.
New planting and ground-floor terraces
The courtyards and podium gardens between the blocks are newly landscaped, and freshly dug beds with young shrubs and bark mulch are easy ground for a rat to burrow into. Ground-floor flats often have a small terrace or decked area backing onto that planting. A burrow at the edge of a bed, a run along the base of a terrace screen or soil kicked out from under decking means rats are close to your patio door.
Car parks and service entries
Under-croft and basement car parks are quiet and sheltered, and they are where drainage and services enter the building. A rat running along a pipe in the car park is using the same routes that lead into cupboards and ducts higher up. How rats get into flats explains how they climb from there.
The Silk Stream and Montrose Park
Blocks near the Silk Stream or backing onto Montrose Park have water and open ground next to them as well as any building work, so activity there is not always about the site. The borough page covers the brook side in general.
Signs to Report Around Your Block
- Torn rubbish bags or droppings on the bin store floor, especially near the door
- Holes about the width of a fist at the edge of courtyard beds or beside paths
- Rats seen in daylight in the car park or crossing the courtyard
- Scratching behind the kitchen units of a ground-floor flat after dark
- Soil pushed out from under a terrace or decking
The first signs of rats helps if you are unsure what you have found, and very small droppings indoors may mean mice in the flat rather than rats.
What to Do Now, and Who Does It
- Tell your managing agent about anything in the bin store, car park or courtyard, with photos and dates
- If you think the building site next door is the source, report it to the site contractor as well
- Inside your own flat, you or your landlord arrange treatment
- Keep food and bird seed off ground-floor terraces and balconies
- Do not put poison down in shared gardens or car parks, where pets and children can reach it
Booking Rat Control for a Colindale Flat
When you book a rat visit, say which floor you are on, whether the flat has a terrace or opens onto a courtyard, and where you have seen signs. Tell us if the bin store or car park is affected too and whether the managing agent knows. Clear the cupboard under the sink and make the kickboards easy to reach.
Afterwards you will hear what was found and what happens next. How long it takes depends on the building and on how settled the rats are, and what affects the timing explains more. Get in touch again if fresh droppings or burrows appear.
Keeping Rats Away Once the Work Next Door Finishes
Rats that moved in while a site was open can stay after it closes if they have food and a way in. Keep the bin store tidy and its door shut, ask for worn door seals to be replaced, and close small gaps into the flat with rodent proofing in Colindale. Why rats come back sets out what usually brings them back, and Rat Control Barnet covers the rest of the borough.
