Rat control in London

Snap traps leave no rodenticide in a home with pets and we use them wherever they will catch. Secured bait in tamper-resistant stations is the main tool against a building: a professional-use anticoagulant applied strictly to the HSE-authorised label and the CRRU UK code. Resistance to bromadiolone and difenacoum is documented across central southern England, so the active is chosen for the site.

Two rules now shape rat work: since 1 January 2025 it has been illegal to use a second-generation anticoagulant against an infestation not connected to a building, and since 1 January 2026 professional rodenticides can only be bought with proof of competence. Glue traps have been an offence in England without a licence since 31 July 2024 under the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022.

Proofing and drains finish the job: brown rats live in sewer systems, so we check inspection covers and seal the brickwork, pipe gaps and air bricks the run used.

What moves the price:

• Where the rats are: garden, loft, wall cavity, under the floor or in the drains
• Proofing, from one air brick to a whole roofline, and any drain repair

For comparison, Hounslow Council charges £155 for rats in the garden and £180 indoors, up to three visits over 35 days, from 1 April 2026, proofing extra. Wandsworth Council charges £214 for two visits from 1 April 2026, or £107 with a concession, and Haringey Council charges £191 for three visits. Kensington and Chelsea charges £258.80 for four visits. Westminster City Council is not taking private work, and Richmond Council has no pest service.

We start with a free inspection survey, give a fixed written quote with proofing included, and charge no call-out fee.

Before we arrive:

• Do not put down shop poison: resistant rats survive it, open-ground use is illegal, and it makes professional bait harder to place
• Secure the bins, stop feeding the birds for now and keep compost sealed, as Westminster City Council advises

After the visit:

• Leave the stations where they are; multi-feed baits take up to ten days, and Westminster says most rat infestations take four to eight weeks to control
• If noise continues after the final visit, we return under the written six-month guarantee
• If you find a dead rat, wear gloves, bag it and wash your hands; the NHS leptospirosis advice is to cover cuts and not handle dead animals bare-handed

On the final visit we remove the bait, check the proofing and leave a written report. If it turns out to be mice, see mice control.

The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 gives every council a duty to keep its district free of rats and mice, requires an occupier to tell the council in writing if rats are present in substantial numbers, and lets the council serve notice on the owner or occupier requiring treatment or structural works. Rats in a neighbour's garden go to the council under that Act.

In a rented home, Shelter's guidance is that the landlord must deal with rats let in by a defect they must repair or present at move-in; a tenant is responsible only where their own waste or conduct caused it. A tenant can ask for an HHSRS inspection under the Housing Act 2004, or claim under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 after reporting in writing. Phase 2 of Awaab's Law is due to bring that hazard into fixed timescales for social landlords from 30 November 2026; no date has been set for private landlords.

London councils logged about 76,500 rat reports between 2023 and mid-2025 across the boroughs that answered a freedom of information request. Camden Council recorded 9,133, roughly ten a day, Brent 6,523, Kensington and Chelsea 5,740 and Hammersmith and Fulham 5,382; The autumn 2025 national survey put rat activity up 38% on the year, blamed on waste and poorly sealed extensions. London's rat is the brown rat; the black rat is no longer established in Britain.

In the Victorian terraces of Camden and Kentish Town the old drains and cellars are the usual route in; in Kensington and Hammersmith the bin stores of mansion blocks and restaurant yards keep rats fed; and in the gardens of Chiswick and the TW postcodes, decking and compost heaps do the same.

Because Richmond Council runs no pest service and Westminster City Council treats only its own tenants, private rat removal is the only route for most of our patch, including Hounslow, Twickenham and Isleworth.