Rat control in Zoetermeer: rat or mouse?
A brown rat is much bigger than a mouse, with a thick, scaly tail and a blunt snout. You often spot one at dusk along a ditch, a hedge or a fence. The evidence it leaves is different too:
- droppings roughly one to two centimetres long, often in clusters
- tunnels and holes under paving, sheds and compost heaps
- dark grease marks along walls on regular runs
- gnaw marks on wheelie bins, wooden doors or the fence
- scratching in the crawl space, sometimes even in daytime
Where rats in the house and garden come from
Rats need water, cover and food. Outdoors they find these along ditches and in dense planting; bird food on the ground, an open compost bin or food waste in a bag next to the bin make a garden even more appealing. Indoors they almost always arrive via the sewer: a cracked or displaced drain pipe under the floor, an old connection that was never capped, or a broken waste pipe in the crawl space.
Rats can spread diseases, including Weil's disease, and they gnaw through pipes and insulation. That is why it pays to act quickly.
How our rat control works
We begin with an inspection of the garden, shed and crawl space. If we find signs indoors, we look at the drain connections and, where needed, recommend a camera survey by a drainage specialist. A rat flap (rattenklep) fitted in the pipe lets waste water through but stops rats coming up.
- finding the source: runs, burrows and possible drain defects
- proofing: sealing openings, fitting a rat flap, grilles in the crawl space
- control: traps or professional bait in locked stations
- follow-up: removing the stations once feeding has stopped
Professional rodenticides may only be used by certified pest controllers, and we always combine them with proofing.
What you can do yourself – and what not
Take away whatever attracts them. Feed birds from a table or a hanging feeder so nothing lands on the ground. Never leave rubbish bags beside the bin, clear up fallen fruit and keep the compost bin closed, ideally with mesh underneath. Cut back dense shrubs along the house so rats have less cover.
Do not throw poison into a burrow or down the drain. A poisoned rat may die in the cavity wall or under the floor, and birds or cats can end up eating the poison. If you see rats in the street, in a public green space or by a pond in the park, report it to the municipality, the gemeente Zoetermeer.
Stopping them coming back
Once the rats have gone, prevention takes over. Check regularly for new holes under the patio slabs and make sure the shed door closes properly; rats will gnaw their way through a gap under a wooden door. A metal kick plate along the bottom helps. If the trouble is smaller rodents indoors, you will find more on our mouse control page. And for the full range of problems we deal with, take a look at our page on pest control in Zoetermeer.
