Two starting points, one borough
Bexley runs from the Georgian and Victorian streets of the old village centre to broad 1930s suburbia further out, and rats reach a house by different routes in each. Around Bexley Village, ageing drainage under older housing is the usual culprit. Out in the 1930s semis of Bexleyheath, Sidcup and Welling, a rat is just as likely to have come in through the garden.
Bexley Village: when the drains are the route
The older housing around Bexley Village sits on drainage that has served the area for well over a century, and a cracked pipe or a shifted joint gives rats a way from the sewer into a floor void without ever showing themselves outside. Scratching under the floor, a bad smell near the stairs, or droppings behind a kickboard with no obvious hole outside all point this way.
The 1930s semis: garden and shed activity
Across Bexleyheath, Sidcup and Welling, semi-detached houses with front and back gardens give rats a different way in - along a fence line, under a shed base, or through a gap where a garden backs onto open land near Crayford Marshes or the river. Compost heaps and bird feeders left out overnight are common draws in these streets.
Getting rid of them: the order that works
- Confirm the animal and note where and when you've seen or heard it
- Remove easy food: bird feeders, compost, pet bowls left out overnight
- Book professional treatment rather than laying poison where children or pets can find it
- Leave any burrow or hole open until treatment is complete
- Close the route once activity has stopped, whether that's above or below ground
Closing the route for good
In the 1930s semis, entry points are often found where pipework passes through cavity walls or where airbricks have deteriorated over the decades. In the older housing around Bexley Village, gaps around suspended timber floors and chimney breasts are more common routes in. Our rodent proofing service handles the accessible gaps above ground; a below-ground drain fault needs a camera survey and repair.
Booking rat control in Bexley
Rat control anywhere in Bexley is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house, and because around Bexleyheath, where the borough's main town centre, mentioning that when you book rat control points us towards the likely route in, with the rest of the detail on the Bexley rat control page.
