Rats in the basement of an apartment building: what to do and where to go

Rats appeared at the entrance - this happens in a fairly large number of apartment buildings. Especially where the garbage chute is installed and operates. This plunges many residents into a real panic. On the one hand, these evil, gluttonous and omnivorous creatures cause subconscious horror. On the other hand, consciousness tells people that the rats that appear in the entrance can become the spread of terrible infectious diseases. In addition, they can also become the cause of quite significant material losses due to their raids.

What if rats appeared in your entrance? Where to go and who to appeal to?

How to get rid of the rats?

Both the sanitary services for the destruction of rats and the homeowners themselves can drive out pests today. In most cases, the means and methods are used to ensure that the negative impact on the environment is minimized. If a rat appears in an apartment, even children know what to do and where to go. And yet, the popularity of self-pesting remains high for various reasons. After all, the presence of rodents is simply not perceived by many owners as a serious problem. In this case, in the 21st century, quite often very wild means are used, such as arsenic or other dangerous poisons obtained by acquaintance. However, there are dozens of ways to eliminate pests or scare them away from the premises of an apartment that are not associated with the use of chemicals and toxic substances.

How to recognize a hazard?

Rats and rodents in general are rather cautious animals, capable of hiding and camouflaging for a long time. However, there are very few real cases of collision with pests in a city apartment. You can detect their appearance by paying attention to indirect signs:

increased physical activity of rodents at night;
detection of tooth marks on the surface of furniture;
rat footprints on the floor or table;
damage to concrete structures, wiring;
detection of rat passages in places of manifestation of pest activity.

If one of these signs is observed in the apartment, it is worthwhile to show prudence from the very beginning and take care of individual safety measures.

Existing methods of struggle

To wait a month until the housing office deigns to take action (at best), not everyone will have the patience. What can you do yourself?

Pied cat is expensive

Get a cat, or even better a cat and a dog. These natural enemies of the rat fraternity do an excellent job of reducing the population.
Place rat traps, put poisoned baits. Here you need to be careful if there are pets in the house.
Use ultrasonic repellents to cause rats to leave the apartment under the influence of ultrasound.

But all these methods will be ineffective if you do not maintain cleanliness in common areas and leave paths for entering the building. And to understand that no matter how careful and cunning these clever animals are, a person should always be at the forefront in the fight against them.

Check out articles on similar topics

Gray rat: always close to the person
Rodent from rats and mice: how to use
What is the difference between a mouse and a rat: an overview of the characteristics
How to make a rat trap from a plastic bottle

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How does a rat get into homes?

Rodents are distinguished by a high level of intellectual development - that is why, before looking for an effective way or means for capturing them, it is worth figuring out where the pests can come from. Indoor rodents can get started for various reasons. But their appearance usually occurs exclusively through certain paths. From basements, pests can enter through doors and windows, as well as through cracks in floor slabs. In addition, the danger is posed by gaps in the places where sewer pipes are laid, as well as any other technological openings, including ventilation ducts, as well as garbage chutes, which in some houses are equipped directly with an exit to the kitchen space.

The age-old question: what to do?

If it is possible to successfully fight ectoparasites in a personal backyard, then in apartment buildings the extermination of rodents in a separate living room is ineffective. Migration from one entrance to another or between houses will be observed (by the way, the rodent can reach speeds of up to 10 km / h). In addition to basements, rats at the entrance may appear from garbage bins that are not emptied in a timely manner, from a garbage chute, and technical floors. The colony must not be allowed to spread. Therefore, when deciding what to do, you first need to put things in order near the house.

Ideal living and breeding conditions for rats

Only representatives of the management company (ZhSK, DEZ, etc.) can do this efficiently and effectively. The existing documents: SanPiN, Rules and Norms for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock, the Housing Code (Article 161) unambiguously interpret that it is the responsibility of this organization to provide citizens with safe living conditions that meet all sanitary standards, and prevent the appearance of rodents. She must take action on time.

The emerging rats in the basement, fleas and other parasites testify to the dishonesty of housing and communal services employees, untimely removal of garbage, irregular rounds of problem areas and areas, rejection of measures to destroy rodents when they first appear, as well as the lack of revision of wired grids on the windows of technical floors. Every month, special services are required to carry out deratization using baits, traps or gels. With bred rodents, we can talk about the failure of the service organization to fulfill its duties, for which it can be held accountable.

Complaining about an egregious environment must be consistent.

First, an application is made to the housing office
Rejection of measures leads to the next step: writing an application, preferably with the signatures of all tenants and delivering it to the housing office.
On the neighbors, littering the yard, law enforcement officers and residents draw up an act. This document obliges you to either remove the garbage or pay a fine. In case of payment of a fine, the management company itself removes the garbage and does not allow the yard to be littered in the future.
If housing and communal services workers ignore citizens' appeals, you can make a complaint about them and take (send with notification by mail) copies to the Prosecutor's Office, Rospotrebnadzor, State Housing Inspection and Sanitary and Epidemiological Station.
Wait a month from the date of dispatch (according to the postmark) or the date of registration.
Track the deadline for deratization, garbage collection, filling cracks in basements with a fine mesh, etc.
If no action is taken during this time, you need to file a statement of claim with the judicial authorities.

By the way. Grocery stores on the ground floors of a residential building are a real threat of rats.Breeding unsanitary conditions in the store's back rooms, ignoring preventive measures on the part of its management threatens with sanctions after citizens apply to the same Rospotrebnadzor. In particular, to the imposition of a fine, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Emergency response measures

Rat in the apartment - what to do and where to go? This question is often asked by residents of the capital's high-rise buildings to representatives of Rospotrebnadzor or other sanitary services. The first thing to remember in such a situation: when faced with a rodent personally, you should not be aggressive and try to destroy the pest with your bare hands. At best, you will face aggression from a rat. At worst, you will be attacked and bitten, risking getting such a serious viral disease as rabies, as well as contracting encephalitis, hepatitis and other diseases that are extremely dangerous for humans. If a pest is found, you need to contact the sanitary and epidemiological station or start catching it, having previously purchased the appropriate equipment, means of struggle and taking care of safety measures.

What are the ways to fight there?

Among the most commonly used methods of killing rats are:

the use of poisonous poisonous baits and delicacies for industrial or home use;
the use of scarers emitting ultrasound or electromagnetic waves;
the installation of traps-traps used as a means for mechanical trapping of pests;
the use of biological protection factors - the natural enemies of rats are hedgehogs, snakes, cats, dogs;
using folk recipes to eliminate harmful rodents - you can choose an option with a deterrent effect or combinations of ingredients that are deadly for rats.

Which method to choose is up to the owner of the property.

Catching methods

If only one annoying rodent annoys you, you can try to catch it mechanically. Before you take the rat out of the apartment, pay attention to which trap options you can use. In most cases, classic metal traps are used for these purposes - plastic varieties are designed mainly for mice. In addition, there are current glue traps, an analogue of which you can make yourself. They fix the rodent on the surface and prevent it from moving. The disadvantage of any traps is the need for self-disposal of the caught pests. In addition, it will take up to several weeks to wait for their death, while the sounds made will definitely turn out to be far from pleasant.

"Reasonable" rodent: what is he like?

Basically, a person is bothered by a gray rat (pasyuk). Refers to mammals, a detachment of rodents. A synanthropic animal that has occupied all territories suitable for its habitat. It is considered the largest predator of its kind in the vastness of the Russian Federation.
The length of her body is from 17 to 25 cm, the tail itself is 19 cm in size. The fur coat is of a beautiful gray shade. The fur is not uniform. It is especially different on the back and abdomen. There are exceptions - black rats.
Pasiuk leads a night and evening lifestyle. Settles near a person's dwelling (or in it). Can exist in a group, alone, or in a colony.
Each group has its own "sphere of influence", a territory marked with a special pheromone.
Rats have nests that they protect. The path to the nest, wherever it is, is found unmistakably.
Once a route laid out, away from heavy traffic (along pipes, skirting boards, along walls), is immediately remembered and does not change.
The basement rat feeds on food rich in animal proteins. Does not neglect garbage, fodder. They attack young birds and animals.
The rodent constantly needs food, on average 25 g per day and water (35 ml). Without food, rats die after 4 days, while without water, death occurs even earlier.
The most formidable weapon of these animals is their teeth, which do not stop growing all their lives. They gnaw through wires, soft metal objects made of tin, copper, lead.
The life cycle is 3 years at best. But due to the high mortality rate of young growth, only 5% survive to this age. The rest of the individuals have a life threshold of about one and a half years.

How to use a glue trap?

The use of adhesive retainers for capturing a rat requires some preliminary preparation. In particular, it will take time to prepare the site for the capture. It should be a flat surface about half a meter in size on each side. A sheet of plywood, plastic, thick cardboard is suitable. The prepared trap is placed on the floor and firmly fixed. The glue in the tube, specially designed for rodent control, is used in a simple and convenient way. It is necessary to open the protective seal, apply the composition to the surface with an even thin layer. The solid line should have a spiral shape with a distance between the edges of 5 cm. In the central part of the trap there is a delicacy for which the rodent will hunt.

Natural repellents

How to drive a rat out of an apartment without destroying it. You can scare off pests with pungent odors. Suitable:

essential oils with strong and harsh aromatic components - lemon balm, lavender, peppermint, chamomile, you can use an aroma lamp or candles;
chlorine bleach and natural vinegar - these products are additional disinfecting factors, they can be used for thorough cleaning in places where rats live;
ammonia - ammonia can be poured into a rat hole or plugged with a rag soaked in this odorous substance;
fumigation with smoke bombs is a rather complicated method for use at home, but effective.

Folk ways

Important! Any popular method will do, but only if there are not too many rats. Otherwise, you must contact a specialized center for the destruction of rats. Let's name the most popular of the folk methods.

Gypsum and flour

These components must be taken in equal proportions. As for flour, you can take plain (wheat) or corn flour. Pour into a disposable bowl, add 250 ml of milk, knead the dough. Form balls from the finished mass and spread them in places where individuals were previously seen. Check the bait in a day. Ideally, it shouldn't be. Otherwise, you will have to repeat this procedure, only select other secret places.

Wine cork bait

An excellent "delicacy" for the "tailed neighbors". To prepare it, you need to grind a few wine corks and fry them in lard. Spread out wherever possible, but in safe places for domestic cats, cats. What happens: after the mixture enters the esophagus, the cork powder begins to swell. This leads to deformation of the internal organs, and the individual dies. A struggle is carried out until the squeak and rustle disappear in the house.

Glue

Apply to thick cardboard, plastic or linoleum, leave in the place where rats are supposed to move. It is advisable to prepare several such "tracks" for them. Once on them, rodents will begin to get bogged down in a sticky mass. This method is suitable only if a rat accidentally ran into the apartment. To completely get rid of them on the second floor, the owners must use several options at once. For example, an ultrasonic device in conjunction with folk remedies.

Soda and sugar

Take flour, soda and granulated sugar in equal proportions, mix. Arrange in containers and place them wherever rodents have been seen.A treat causes gas to build up (carbon dioxide). But since they do not know how to burp, they die.

Peppermint

Used fresh or dry. It can also be purchased as an ethereal composition. But since it is unlikely that you will be able to treat the whole house or basement with essential oil, it is better to spread peppermint sprigs everywhere. Pests are afraid of this aroma, so they will bypass these places.

Advice! The best option is to plant mint around the house.

Blackroot

Another name for this plant is the rat rat race. With its help it will be possible to get rid of the whole invasion of "tailed" parasites. From it you need to prepare a decoction or make a juice, and spray the room with the resulting composition. Pay special attention to crevices and holes. ... Blackroot is also added to baits instead of water or milk.

Elder

The main property of this shrub is the content of hydrocyanic acid. Neither rats nor mice will start in the house if you plant an elderberry next to it. But if they are already wound up, then you need to destroy them. To do this, the twigs of the plant must be laid out in the basement, in the attic, under the sofa, refrigerator and in other places.

Security measures

The first thing to do is to pay attention to the way pests enter the apartment. Most often we are talking about sewer systems - through them rodents penetrate into houses in new buildings. Here, a reasonable precaution would be to install rodent-prevention lattice inserts on all large-diameter pipeline inlet elements. On the first floors, careful concreting of all detected cracks and gaps would be a reasonable solution. If pests are running out of the garbage chute, you can simply brew it in the apartment and take out the waste in containers. Whenever possible, walls and floors are reinforced using metal mesh structures - they can be fixed under decorative sheet material.

Graffiti on the walls at the entrance

Leaving the house and waiting for the elevator is not entirely pleasant to read something from the category "Misha is a fool" on the wall, and sometimes even more vigorous inscriptions. Unfortunately, the youth at all times gravitated towards "rock painting". This is a misfortune, I'm not afraid to say with certainty, of every house in our country, as well as the advertisements posted everywhere.

According to a thousand times already mentioned by us the Rules and norms of technical operation of the housing stock, the employees of the housing department are obliged to paint over the inscriptions on the walls and wash them from dirt. We'll tell you where and how to write if they don't. And also, once again, let us remind you that you pay monthly for the maintenance of housing.

The following video will tell about how law enforcement agencies are fighting those who like to write on the walls in the entrance:

Where to go

We will not repeat too much, it has already been mentioned many times that the main body of influence on unscrupulous "communal services" is the State Housing Inspectorate. Together with her, it is advisable to contact Rospotrebnadzor, as an organization that controls the poor-quality provision of services to the population.

How to draw up a statement is described in detail in the above paragraphs. We slightly change the wording in the main text - and the complaint about the dirty and covered walls of the entrance is ready. You can do it.

Sample complaint about dirty and covered staircase walls

Sample complaint about dirty and covered entrance walls - 1

Sample complaint about dirty and covered entrance walls - 4

Sample complaint about dirty and covered entrance walls - 3

Sample complaint about dirty and covered entrance walls - 4

Necessary actions

The sequence of actions also does not differ from the measures for the smell from the basement and the appearance of rodents there. Read the previous paragraphs carefully and follow the algorithm specified there. Do not forget that even if the appeal to the housing inspectorate did not give a result, then there are always higher authorities, for example, the prosecutor's office and the court.

We hope that after reading everything that we have written, you will be able to effectively influence the lazy or careless employees of the housing and communal services sector. After all, it is always pleasant when you are surrounded by a clean entrance, without unnecessary smells and "uninvited guests". Fight for your comfort, and we will gladly help you with competent advice.

Ultrasonic rat repellents

Before fighting rats in an apartment, it is worth assessing the safety of the methods available to use from the very beginning. It is worth paying attention to the fact that if you have animals or small children at home, you should abandon the idea of preparing bait on a poisonous basis. A much safer solution in this case would be the use of ultrasonic scarers. These devices are sold in various power ratings, plug into an outlet, and provide the ability to eliminate pests through exposure to sound waves inaudible to the average human ear. The devices do not cause discomfort to humans, are completely safe, have a wide range of action and, with regular use, provide opportunities for the successful elimination of rodents.

"Harmful" rats

Rats in the basement of an apartment building are a direct threat to the health of all its residents. The greatest harm from them lies in the spread of dangerous diseases that often end in death. Infections carried by rats are called zoonotic.

Rats in a house can be found by residents of an apartment on any floor

This chain can be distinguished:

leptospirosis;
giardiasis;
plague;
rabies;
tularemia;
encephalitis;
toxocariasis;
streptobacillosis.

The impact on a person is not limited to this. Rats spoil cereals and grain. Destroy structures. Damage to home farming. Finally, they can simply bite, ruin the mood, and scare. Who would like a rat to live in an apartment if it is not decorative? What can we say if rats settle in the sewers! Due to the fact that these cunning and adapted to various living conditions animals are excellent swimmers who know how to hold their breath, they freely travel along the sewer, easily clinging to the uneven surface of the pipes with their paws. They can "look at the light" by climbing the pipes from the basement of the house in search of food, when the territory is overcrowded, when frost sets in, as well as fleeing from persecution (deratization).

Important! Basement rats from the sewer gnaw through graceful, lightweight plastic pipes and corrugations that do not represent any obstacle to strong teeth. Having found the scout, you need to slam the toilet lid. It would be nice to immediately pour into it from a bucket of boiled water, caustic solution for cleaning the sewage system, bleach, bleach, "Whiteness". But this is a local measure. Where is the guarantee that in a day or two the rats will not follow the beaten path again?

Manufacturing of toxic substances

There are a variety of ways to control rodents at home. Among the most popular means for self-preparation of poison are:

a mixture of sugar, flour and baking soda - it provokes gas formation in the rat's stomach, which the pest is unable to stop due to the structural features of its digestive tract;
mixing flour and gypsum, the rodent feasts on such a mixture, then drinks water and dies;
crushing the wine cork - after grinding it is soaked in lard and spread as bait, the mixture swelling in the stomach produces irreversible changes in the internal organs of the rat, leading to its death.

Ready poison

If you need to exterminate rats in an apartment where people do not live permanently, you can use chemicals that can ensure the rapid elimination of pests.The most popular baits are produced in the form of a poison-impregnated grain that is attractive to rodents. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the compositions used in everyday life can also be produced in granules or other forms of release. Among the most popular remedies are Krysid or Storm. Delayed-release drugs have a small risk associated with the possibility of death of animals between slab ceilings, in a ventilation or sewer pipe. After that, it will take a long time to deal with the unpleasant odor.

Signs of large rodents

Signs of the presence of a rat
How to understand that there is a rat in the apartment - you need to pay attention to the evidence. Rodents are extremely careful, trying not to show themselves to humans. They are nocturnal. The clues remain in the morning.

There is a specific unpleasant odor characteristic of the mouse family.
Eating food supplies. Rats consume everything that a person eats. Can take away meat, bacon, cookies, sausage, salad, bread. Any product not hidden in the refrigerator, bread bin.
The presence of excrement in the form of small black peas.
Damage to property. In rats, incisors grow daily. To prevent their excessive increase in size, animals are forced to constantly grind their teeth against hard objects. Wood products, plastic, leather, rubber can be affected.
The presence of rustling at night. Rats settle in an apartment under the floor, in the walls, on the ceiling, if there is a layer of insulation there. You can hear how the animals gnaw on solid objects, run, squeak.

Where to go for help?

According to current legislation, having noticed rodents in the common area of an apartment building, property owners can complain to their management company or HOA. They are responsible for the condition of basements, staircases, garbage chutes. At the request of residents, such companies must organize a call to the SES service for the destruction of rats or other pests and monitor their activities, taking into account all the requirements of sanitary legislation. It is worth paying attention to the fact that this rule applies only to public areas. In other cases, if rodents are seen on the territory of a particular apartment, the homeowners will have to carry out the processing at their own expense, paying for the services of specialists, based on the area of the object, the intensity of infection.

How to get the UK to destroy rats - the algorithm of actions

So, there is no doubt that the rats running the entrance are a flaw of the management company. Therefore, it is from her that it is necessary to demand the elimination of this flaw. The management company is obliged to take comprehensive measures aimed at deratizing staircases, technical floors and premises, garbage chutes and basements.

To get the Criminal Code to do its job, you will have to do the following:

in a free form, in two copies, draw up a statement demanding deratization in the house where you live;
in the application one should refer to clause 4.8 of the above-mentioned Resolution of the Gosstroy and to the Rules approved by the already named Resolution of the Government. These documents state that the maintenance of common property is understood as cleaning and compulsory sanitary and hygienic cleaning of public premises;
after setting out your demand with reference to the indicated documents, the application should be signed and the date of its preparation should be put on it;
transfer the application to the authorized representative of the Criminal Code. This official is obliged to register the application in the appropriate ledger and assign it an incoming number. Registration details are indicated on a second copy, which you should keep as proof of your claim.

The reaction of the management company to your application should follow within 10 days.And it should consist in performing work on the deratization of the house.

Is it possible to evict an unreliable owner?

If rodents enter the apartment from neighboring premises, it is worth paying attention from the very beginning that what kind of sanitary situation prevails in the dwellings of other inhabitants of the house. If people live in the entrance who do not comply with basic sanitary and hygienic requirements and have turned their own homes into a breeding ground for rodents, insects and unpleasant odors, processing individual objects without eliminating the main focus of infection will be useless. In this case, it is possible to organize the removal of pests forcibly. And if the owner re-arranges total unsanitary conditions, we can talk about going to court and forced eviction of such a tenant. This is an extreme measure, but if other methods of struggle do not help, it can also be considered as an element of the struggle.

Professional fight with rats in the entrance

Thanks to dedicated pest control organizations, rat control can be quick and unnoticeable for you. From the tenants of the house, in the entrance of which the rats have settled, it will only be necessary to maintain cleanliness and order, otherwise the rodents will come again.

The first step to getting rid of rats is to contact a company that offers pest control services. It can be found on the Internet, and you will be helped to clarify the prices when contacting the department of the sanitary and epidemiological station in your region.

Professionals will offer you several ways to solve the problem of the presence of rats in the entrance. From these, you can choose the one that suits you and your neighbors. The use of poisons and rodenticides can become dangerous not only for the rodents themselves, but also for people and pets. An alternative to these methods are traps.

Be sure to find out how to deal with rats that have died from poison or trapped. It is best if the employees of the rat control company will independently remove the animal carcasses. They should also inform you about the guarantees of their work and surety.