Throughout Leeds, both in the inner-city and the rural outskirts, pest control services are inundated with calls from concerned residents. For a number of years, the City of Leeds has been facing an unprecedented rise in requests for pest management assistance related to not just the influx of rats and mice, but flying insects too, including calling on pest control for nest removal services to get rid of ants, hornets, and over the summer, wasp nests.
Right at the time when Leeds was facing a rat epidemic in March of 2020, lockdown shut the sector down. After lobbying by trade industry bodies. Westminster finally U-turned their decision to give pest control services the green light to help fight the initial epidemic. And called for pest control services to help fight the battle plaguing Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire district for at least the past 3-years!
Apex Environmental Leeds aims to respond to any reports from residents within 24 hours 7 days a week and would urge anyone experiencing issues with pests to contact us wherever you live on 0113 3904270.
Maybe you want to prevent rats from coming to your house, roof, garden, or property in the first place, before they get in the attic. Well, it's hard to keep rats away from a property. They can pretty much go wherever they want, and they will, if there's adequate food and water sources. The real key, regarding rats in the attic, is to prevent them from getting inside. On the roof is fine. Inside is not. To do this, you must inspect the house and seal shut any potential rat entry holes, with steel, which rats can't chew through. Other than that, your best bet is to eliminate things that attract rats to your property, such as bird seed, garbage, pet food, fruit plants, water sources, clutter and debris and so on. That said, even the cleanest property is likely to be a good habitat for rats, so there's not much you can do to keep them away from your house. But you can keep them OUT of your house.
First, use a ladder and inspect every inch of your house, especially the roof vents, plumbing stacks, eave gaps, soffits and soffit vents, and everything at ground level too. Then inspect inside the attic to find out more clues about how many rats there are and where they are most commonly entering. Seal shut every possible entry hole using steel mesh, which rats are unable to chew through. This first step is by far the most important thing, and the only crucial thing you must do.
Second, set at least a dozen or more snap traps in the attic, on areas of rat activity (look for droppings and trails in the insulation), baited with peanut butter. Continue trapping until no more are caught, and no more sounds are heard. If this takes more than 3-4 days, you probably missed an entry spot or two.
Third, once they are all trapped and removed, repair any chewed electrical wires in the attic, and clean the feces and urine. The whole process is difficult, and it will take a couple of years and dozens of jobs before you'll get very good at it, but if you are very careful and work hard, you can do it!
It varies by the complexity of the job and by the company doing the work. The job requires several service visits, as outlined above. It will certainly cost at least a few hundred dollars. But doing it the right way is far cheaper than signing up for a lifetime worth of futile pest control poison service visits! If you want to find out a ballpark price in your town, contact Apex Environmental Leeds, and they will be able to tell you. Our pest control experts have special licensing & certification regulated by wildlife laws, as well as all applicable business licenses. They carry liability insurance, due to risks of climbing on roofs, in attics, dealing with dangerous wildlife, etc. They will perform professional grade repairs which results in a permanent solution so you don't have rats again. It is a good investment in your home and protection against further damage.
In the centre of Leeds we provide specialist pest control & bird proofing services to companies, to protect their premises and ensure these nuisance birds are kept away by humane effective deterrents - such as barriers, netting or spikes.
Also, within this busy and densely populated area, we provide a quick and responsive service to any pest issues, as we understand the need to control infestations before they spread to other areas and affect more premises.
Rodents are commensal pests, thriving in urban habitats from Pudsey, Kirkstall and Hunslet to Chapel Allerton, that can offer them ample food and shelter. Both rats and house mice are omnivorous, consuming whatever they can from contents of compost and rubbish bins to discarded left-overs and even the food in our homes if they get in.
The quickest and most effective way to get rid of rats or mice is by professional, targeted pest control treatments.