A borough with two rat problems
Bromley stretches from grand Victorian streets near the town centre to broad 1930s suburbia in Orpington, Beckenham and West Wickham, and rats travel by different routes in each. Nearer the centre, older drainage under Victorian housing is usually the source. Further out, gardens, sheds and fences in the 1930s semis do most of the work.
Victorian streets near Bromley town centre
The Victorian villas and terraces close to Bromley High Street sit on drainage laid well over a century ago, and a cracked pipe or shifted joint gives rats a route from the sewer into a floor void with no obvious sign outside. Scratching under the floor or a persistent smell near the stairs, with nothing visible in the garden, points this way.
Garden and shed activity further out
In the 1930s semis of Orpington, Beckenham and West Wickham, gardens front and back give rats an entirely different route - along a fence line, under a shed base, or from woodland edges near Chislehurst Commons. Bird feeders and compost heaps left accessible overnight are common draws here.
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 could find it
- Leave any burrow or hole open until treatment is complete
- Close the route in once activity has stopped
Closing the route for good
Across Bromley's 1930s semis, entry points are usually found at airbricks and where pipework passes through cavity walls. In the older Victorian housing nearer the town centre, gaps under suspended timber floors and around chimney breasts are the more typical route in. Our rodent proofing service deals with the accessible gaps above ground.
Booking rat control in Bromley
Rat control anywhere in Bromley is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house, and because around Bromley, where the borough's town centre, mentioning that when you book rat control points us towards the likely route in, with the rest of the detail on the Bromley rat control page.
