Rodent control in London

The method depends on the rodent, so the first visit is about identification. Westminster City Council's leaflets say brown rats live in lofts, wall cavities, garden burrows and sewers, while mice nest inside houses, under floors and in lofts, especially in winter.

• Trapping: break-back traps on the runs. Mice investigate new objects, so traps tend to work quickly; rats avoid anything unfamiliar at first, so traps are checked over several visits.
• Baiting: tamper-resistant stations with professional-use rodenticide applied to the CRRU UK code. Since 1 January 2025 second-generation anticoagulants cannot be used against rodents not linked to a building, which restricts baiting open ground.
• Proofing: because a mouse fits through a 5mm crack, proofing for mice is close work around pipes and kitchen units; for rats it centres on drains, air bricks and the base of walls.

Most jobs combine all three. Glue boards are not part of it: since 31 July 2024 setting a glue trap for rodents in England is an offence without a licence. More detail on each: rat control and mice control.

The price depends on which rodent it is, how far it has spread, how many rooms are involved, whether the drains play a part and how much proofing is needed. Businesses also need written visit records for the environmental health officer.

Councils in our area now mostly charge, and their price covers treatment, not proofing:

• Hounslow Council, from 1 April 2026: £180 for rats indoors or for mice, up to three visits
• Wandsworth Council, from 1 April 2026: £214 for rats and mice, or £107 at the concession rate
• Kensington and Chelsea Council, updated July 2026: £258.80 for four visits covering up to five rooms

Westminster City Council's page, updated May 2026, says it is not taking on further private or commercial work, and Richmond Council offers no pest control service. We start with a free inspection survey, then a fixed written quote with no call-out fee.

Before the visit:

• Clear access to the loft hatch, the cupboard under the sink, kitchen kickboards and anywhere you have seen droppings
• Put food in sealed containers and keep bins shut, so the traps and bait are the easiest meal in the house
• Take up any glue boards you have set; Hounslow Council tells residents it cannot lawfully use them in homes
• Tell us about pets and young children, so stations go where they cannot be reached

After the visit:

• Leave traps and bait stations where they are, and keep pets away from them
• Expect activity to tail off over the following weeks rather than stop overnight
• Wear gloves to deal with any dead rodent or droppings and wash your hands afterwards, as the NHS advises

If fresh droppings appear after the final visit, call us: the written six-month guarantee, subject to the site survey, covers a return visit.

Under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, councils must keep their districts free of rats and mice so far as practicable. Occupiers are expected to report them in substantial numbers to the council in writing, and a council that finds a problem can require the owner or occupier to deal with it, by treatment or by building repairs. The Act deals with rats and mice; in everyday speech they are vermin, so vermin control and rodent control describe the same service.

In a rented home, pests are one of the 29 hazards a property is judged on under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Broadly, the landlord deals with rodents that get in through disrepair or were there when the tenancy began; a tenant whose own waste caused the problem deals with it. See is my landlord responsible for pest control.

Food businesses have their own duty to keep pests out under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013; see commercial pest control.

We cover central, west, north-west, north and south-west London and the TW postcodes. Mice tend to be the commoner call in mansion blocks, conversions and terraces, where they move between flats through shared voids and service ducts, as in Kensington and Pimlico. Rats are more often a garden or drains problem in houses with older drainage, in places such as Wandsworth and Chiswick.

Freedom of information data reported by the Evening Standard put Camden at 9,133 rat reports between 2023 and mid-2025, Brent at 6,523 and Kensington and Chelsea at 5,740. Same-day visits are often possible, Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm, with Sunday kept for emergency calls. See all the areas we cover.