W8 and SW7 · Open 24 hours
Rat control in Kensington
Communal garden squares in W8 sustain rat populations that then use lower-ground drainage to get indoors — the square is usually the reservoir, not just the one property that calls.
Local detail
Rats in Kensington
A garden square is a large, mature, continuously planted space shared by every stucco terrace around it, with sheds, compost, mature shrubs and, in most cases, some bird feeding. Rats established in a square treat the whole surrounding terrace as one territory, which is why a rat call from a single Kensington house is so often connected to what several neighbours are also seeing without having mentioned it to each other yet.
From the square, the route indoors is usually a lower-ground kitchen or utility room in direct contact with soil and old drainage — most Kensington terraces and mansion blocks have one. Mansion blocks add a second complication: shared risers, ducting and a single communal bin store that concentrates waste for the whole building, which is worth checking early when more than one flat is affected.
Signs to look for
Signs of rats in Kensington
What we are usually shown on a Kensington rat call:
- Burrow holes or worn runs along the planting or boundary of a communal garden square
- Droppings or gnaw marks in a lower-ground kitchen or utility room, near the drainage entry
- Activity that several households around the same square report within a short period of each other
- Burrow holes or smear marks at a mansion block's communal bin store
Our approach to rats in Kensington
Where a property backs onto a communal square, the inspection treats the square as the likely reservoir rather than stopping at your own boundary, and in a mansion block it checks the communal bin store and shared risers alongside the flat itself — the full detail on how we treat and proof against rats is on our rat control guide.
Read the full rats guide
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Rats problem in Kensington? Talk it through with us.
Call and describe what you have found and where. We will tell you what it is likely to be, what the inspection would involve and what happens next. The line is open 24 hours.
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Questions
Rats in Kensington — common questions
If your question is not here, call and ask. It is a quick conversation and it usually saves a visit either way.
07886 109682Yes, but it usually needs the square addressed rather than just your property, since that is where the population is sustained. We will set out what we found and what the square is contributing, which is generally what a residents' association or garden committee needs in order to act.
Lower-ground floors in Kensington terraces and mansion blocks are in direct contact with soil and old drainage, so that is usually where a defect or a route in first shows up, before anything is seen upstairs.
Yes, and we work to whatever access, security and confidentiality arrangements the premises require. Those requirements shape scheduling rather than the technical work.