Getting rid of rats in Waterkloof

Most Waterkloof rat calls are about roof rats: the scampering overhead after dark, droppings on top of the ceiling boards, chewed insulation. The fix is to find the route they climb in by, put bait where they travel outside, trap the ones already in the roof and then cut off the route. Poison thrown into the ceiling on its own doesn't solve it.

The roof rat and the big tree

Roof rats, also called black rats, are agile climbers. On an established Waterkloof stand they have more ways up than they need: a jacaranda limb lying on the tiles, an oak spreading over the garage, ivy or bougainvillea climbing a wall to the gutter, a telephone or electricity line running to the house. Once on the roof, a loose tile, a gap at the fascia or an open eave is all they need.

Older roofs make it easier. Timber shrinks, tiles shift and the gaps that were tight when the house was built aren't tight anymore. That's why the same house can have rats year after year even when someone keeps putting poison out.

And on the ground

Brown rats are the other species. They're more likely under the compost heap, beneath a garden shed or along a thickly planted boundary, and they get into kitchens, garages and staff quarters through drains and gaps at floor level. On a big property you can have both at once, and we treat them differently.

Signs you have rats

• Running, scratching or gnawing in the ceiling, usually starting after you go to bed
• Droppings the size of a raisin in the roof, garage or pantry
• Half-eaten fruit, avocados or nuts under trees or in the roof
• Gnawed irrigation pipes, cables or plastic
• Dark grease marks on beams, wall tops or where they squeeze through
• Burrows at the base of walls or under paving

How we clear rats from a Waterkloof property

1. Find the access. We look at trees, creepers, cables and the roofline from outside, then check the roof space where we can get in.
2. Bait outside. Lockable, tamper-resistant bait stations go along walls and runs, where dogs, cats, children and garden birds can't get at the bait.
3. Trap inside. In the ceiling we use traps, which avoids rats dying out of reach in the roof.
4. Close the route. We tell you which branches to cut back, which gaps to seal and what's feeding them.
5. Follow up until activity stops.

Rats and the pool pump room

One spot that often gets overlooked on Waterkloof properties is the pool pump room or a garden storeroom. They're warm, dark, rarely visited and often full of old cushions, bags and pipes. Brown rats in particular love them. If you're seeing rats around the pool area or finding chewed pipes and cables, this is one of the first places we check, and it usually needs its own bait station. The same goes for a shed where bags of fertiliser or bird seed are stored.

The usual mistake

Scattering loose poison into the roof. It's out of sight, so it feels like progress, but rats drag it off, some die in the cavity, and the smell lingers for weeks. Meanwhile the branch is still on the roof and the next rats walk straight in.

A local tip

Have the branches trimmed so there's a clear gap of a metre or more between any tree and the roof, and cut creepers back from gutters. On a stand with old trees, this does more to stop roof rats long-term than anything else you can do.

What does rat control cost?

It depends on the size of the property, how many buildings are affected, how many stations and traps we need and how many follow-up visits it takes. One house with a few rats in the roof is a fairly straightforward job; a big stand with a cottage, garage and outbuildings, or a residence on a monitoring contract, is quoted to fit after we've seen it.

Rats are only one of the rodent problems we see here; rodent control for Waterkloof stands covers mice and outbuildings too. If cockroaches are also showing up in the kitchen, see cockroach treatments in Waterkloof. City-wide detail is on our Pretoria rat control page, and we also handle rats in Garsfontein homes. If you'd like to try some steps yourself first, our article on how to get rid of rats is a good place to start.

We're SAPCA registered and our rat treatments carry a 3-month guarantee, so if they return within three months, we do too. Call 012 012 5526, or WhatsApp us a photo of the droppings or the damage.