Our CCTV drain surveys operate across North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Teesside, Cambridge, and Essex. Suspect rats are getting into your property? We’ve got your drains covered!
Rats constantly search for ways to enter buildings in order to find food, escape predators and bad weather. While gaps in walls, doors, and roofs are common entry points, one of the most overlooked sources of rat infestations is your drainage system.
Faults in drains — such as cracks, breaks, or redundant lines — create direct pathways for rats to leave the sewers. From there, they can burrow into surrounding ground and quickly gain access to homes or commercial buildings. Once inside, rats enjoy a warm and dry nesting space, while still returning to the sewer for food and water.
If you’re dealing with a persistent rat problem and can’t identify any obvious external entry points, chances are the issue lies with your drains. A CCTV drain survey for rats uses high-definition cameras to identify cracks, faults, or collapsed sections of pipework that allow rodents through.
By pinpointing the source, we can provide the right solution — whether that’s drain relining, installing a rat flap, or sealing off redundant lines — to stop infestations at their root.
There is unfortunately a knowledge gap in the industry when it comes to rat activity in drains. Pest control companies generally have little knowledge of drains, and drainage company’s lack the experience with rats to understand how they might be getting in.
Too often we heard from clients “I have had my drains checked, and their were all fine”., only to find surveys were incomplete or simply not looking for the sort of faults rats might exploit.
Because of this we chose to invest in not only training of our team to understand drainage systems, but also significantly invest is drainage survey equipment to allow the best chance of finding any drain faults.
Not all drainage surveys are the same. Not only do you need the right equipment , but experience managing rat problem to know what to look for.
A very common question, as you wouldn’t think the two are connected.
If the drains are in good condition, then rats shouldn’t be able to escape them. If a drainage pipe has been broken or left uncapped, rats can leave the drain system and enter the surrounding ground. This could lead directly into a void inside a building, or they may dig through surrounding soil to enter the foundation or wall cavity.
Yes! Unfortunately, we sometimes hear of drainage engineers or water companies suggest otherwise. But we see evidence of rats using our sewer systems on a daily basis. This might be droppings on benching inside a manhole chamber, or ever the occasional rat itself.
Drains are ideal for rats as they provide constant food and water from our kitchen and toilet waste. When they breed and increase in numbers, they provide highways to connect rats to neighbouring properties to explore new territories.
