SW18 and SW11 · Open 24 hours
Rat control in Wandsworth
Basement excavation and extension work disturb harbourage and open drainage routes across SW18, which is why so much Wandsworth rat activity follows recent building work.
Local detail
Rats in Wandsworth
A very high proportion of Wandsworth's Victorian terraces have been altered — basements dug out, lofts converted, side returns filled in, rear extensions added — and every one of those jobs disturbs ground or breaks into drainage. A substantial share of the rat work we do in SW18 traces back to building work at the property or next door to it.
Dug-out basements matter most: they put habitable rooms in direct contact with soil and old drainage, run warm, and are often the least used part of the house, so activity establishes there and moves upward. Wandsworth Common and the river also support populations that work into the surrounding streets.
Signs to look for
Signs of rats in Wandsworth
What we are usually shown in SW18 and SW11:
- Rat activity that started during or shortly after basement excavation or extension work
- Droppings or gnaw marks in a ground-floor kitchen that trace back to the basement below
- Burrow holes near a garden backing onto Wandsworth Common or the river corridor
- Activity reported in a riverside development's shared basement, car park or waste compound
Our approach to rats in Wandsworth
Because recent building work so often explains Wandsworth rat activity, the inspection asks about it directly and checks dug-out basements and drainage first, while riverside developments get their own survey of shared basements, car parks and service risers — 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 Wandsworth? 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 Wandsworth — 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 109682Very likely. Excavation disturbs established harbourage and frequently breaks or exposes old drainage. The population that was living undisturbed under the ground now has a route into a warm room. It is one of the most common patterns we see in SW18.
Both support populations, and gardens backing onto them see more pressure. But the reason rats come indoors is normally something specific at the property — a gap, a food source, disturbed ground — which is what the inspection looks for.
Yes. Newer blocks have their own pattern — shared basements, car parks, waste compounds and service risers — and the inspection follows those rather than the garden-and-drainage picture of a terrace.