Advice
Signs of Rats in Your Home or Garden and What to Do
Rats are secretive and mostly active at night, so the signs they leave behind are often the first and clearest way to know they are there.
Read the guide →We begin with an inspection, explain what we find in plain English and then treat the problem carefully, with pets and children in mind.
Why rats appear in a coastal town
Dawlish is a seaside town on the south Devon coast, with a seafront, the railway along the sea wall and homes rising up the hillside. Rats use whatever cover they can find, and railway edges, banks and sea walls offer quiet routes that run close to gardens and bins.
Food outlets and holiday accommodation near the front produce plenty of waste. Rats that start there may then work into neighbouring yards and gardens. We take the surroundings into account, not just the room where the problem was spotted.
Homes on the hillside
On the slopes above the town, gardens often step up in terraces, with retaining walls, sheds and dense planting. Those are the kinds of places rats burrow and nest in. They then follow pipes and cables into lofts and wall cavities.
Our technician checks the outside and the inside, looking for burrows, droppings, runs and gnaw marks. Baiting and trapping are used in a safe, controlled way, and we then fill or report gaps so the rats do not simply return the same way. For any Dawlish home, we explain each finding and what it means for the next step, so you are never left guessing. Where repairs are needed that are outside our work, we will tell you clearly.
Practical steps for Dawlish households
Keep bins closed, clear fallen fruit and food scraps, store pet food indoors and keep compost covered. Small changes like these reduce the pull. We cover Dawlish on the EX7 postcode, and we also cover Teignmouth, Exmouth and Newton Abbot. If you are unsure whether you have rats, describe what you have noticed and we will advise.
Frequently asked questions
Do rats come from the railway side in Dawlish?
Rats can live along embankments and sea walls, then move into nearby gardens if food is available. We cannot treat rail land, but we can deal with activity on your property and advise on keeping them out.
Should I put poison down myself?
We would advise against it. Over-the-counter products can be misused, may risk pets and wildlife and often miss the cause. A proper inspection lets us treat safely and tackle the entry points.
What do rat burrows look like in a garden?
Usually a hole about the size of a fist, often beside a wall, shed, fence or decking, with smooth, worn edges and sometimes loose soil nearby. Do not block them yourself. Let us have a look first.