I have no idea how rats are entering my terraced house. I see no exterior gaps. The block is so old that the houses were built well before architects and builders figured out it was a bad idea to butt houses up next to each other with no gap. So houses are not self-standing. They all lean against each other for support.
The rats never get into the living space but I hear them running across ceilings. They are likely getting in through a neighbor. Bricks are no match for rats, so there are likely missing bricks and pathways between the walls that are shared with neighbors. The rat fight is an impossible never ending battle, short of ripping out all walls and ceilings. Even if I bought some costly thermal infrared camera with 24/7 surveillance to find a rat path, plugging it would just be temporary until the rats make an alternate route. Exterminators are of course only interested in temporary solutions, for job security.
The roof is uninsulated and ⅓ of it is not really structurally sound… was installed by incompetent builders. So I got a couple estimates for the structurally problematic section of roof. Most likely the law requires builders to insulate new roofs. Generally that’s sensible. However, if I insulate the roof it will just make the rats even more comfortable. And they would likely destroy the insulation to use for nesting supplies. Fuck that. Especially when only ⅓ of the roof would be replaced.
I asked roofers: “how can you install rat-proof insulation? Can you enclose it in a metal screen or something? Is there a kind of insulation that is laced with rat poison?” They had no idea. They never heard the question before, which is strange because the whole city has a rat population that is double the human population.
So for years I have just neglected the roof, which looks like a sagging mattress; as I wait for a rat-proof option.
Hey,
There are no rat proof insulations because insulation needs to have some way of handling moisture in the air.
Most often that is done with a permuable membrane where I live but that might vary by region - but the underlying physics stay the same :D
I’ve seen two things that seem wrong to me though:…a) rats don’t move stone. They can destroy mortar but even then only if it’s weak from what I know.
And at least here there are also exterminators who are offering protection instead of removing, i.e. how to prevent pests from getting in.
That said: even then you’d need to tear open the walls under your roof as you need to close all entrances. That’s the only way forward I’m aware of.
Please note that my words on roofing is sound as I needed to do that a couple of times myself - but the rats part is from friends who had a similar issue (cellar instead of roof but same,same).
I appreciate the insight. It sounds like no solution then… and I need to do a major renovation before insulating the roof.
I’ve seen two things that seem wrong to me though:…a) rats don’t move stone. They can destroy mortar but even then only if it’s weak from what I know.
Rat teeth never stop growing. They will scrape and chew through concrete along with anything softer than concrete, like mortar. They cannot get through glass and metal. So one technique for patching a hole is to mix concrete with broken glass. The broken glass will stop them. But if they are determined enough they would just attack the next brick. There are many bricks in the wall.
Yeah but don’t they only do that if there’s an incentive? that’s what I don’t understand. But as I said roof I can answer a few questions, rats just fascinate me!
I think the big incentive for everything rats do is survival. They know very well when they are not inside my walls and they are outside roaming for food, they are at great risk from predators (like birds and cats). This is why aromatherapy fails. Rats have a highly sensitive sense of smell and so if mint insense or a diffuser of mint oil is running, it’s quite intense for them and is said to be a repellant. But in reality it fails as a repellant because rats will tolerate a lot when the alternative risks death.
I don’t know why my walls are of particular interest, vs the neighbors walls. Maybe the neighbor has a cat. I wonder if I should try running a diffuser with strong odors inside the walls on the off chance that they have a better shelter to choose from. OTOH, I suppose I don’t want moisture from the diffuser accumulating between the walls.