Rat control for your home

The two rats you actually have

Almost every Sydney house we attend has one of two species. The roof rat (black rat) is the climber — it arrives along fences, branches and power lines and lives in the roof void, wall cavities and the tops of cupboards. The Norway rat (brown rat) is the burrower — it works the subfloor, drainage, garden beds, compost and the space under decks and sheds.

They need different trap placement and different proofing. Identifying which one you have is the first thing we do, because it decides where everything else goes.

What we do on site

1. Inspection

A structured walk of the property: roof void, subfloor where accessible, kitchen and laundry cabinetry, meter boxes and service penetrations, eaves and roofline, weep holes, vents, bins, pet food, fruit trees and drainage. We're mapping runs and entry points, not just confirming that you have rats — you already know that.

2. Mechanical trapping

Traps go on evidence: active runs, rub marks, fresh droppings and gnaw points. In homes we lead with mechanical traps rather than scattering rodenticide through living areas — it removes the animal where we can find it, instead of leaving it to die in a wall cavity. Placement is chosen with pets and children in mind.

3. Physical proofing

Ratman does the sealing work. Gaps around water and waste pipes, damaged or missing vent covers, open weep holes, eave and tile gaps, gappy external doors, subfloor access points and cable penetrations. Trapping without proofing just makes room for the next one. More on rodent proofing.

4. Follow-up

We come back to clear traps, check the proofing held, and close anything the first round of activity exposed. Domestic rat jobs are usually finished in two to three visits.

What we don't do

• We don't broadcast rodenticide through a house as a first response.
• We don't hand you a list of holes and leave you to find a builder.
• We don't quote a guaranteed outcome before anyone has looked at the property.
• We don't claim 24/7 availability. Same-day response is during operating hours, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM.

Not sure it's rats?

Fast, light scurrying with lots of small droppings usually points to mice, which we handle differently — see mouse control. Heavier thumping and dragging overhead after dark is more often a roof rat; see rats in the roof. If you're still unsure, the signs guide walks through the evidence.