Rat control in The Hague: how to recognise rats
In the Netherlands it is almost always the brown rat. It is much larger than a mouse, has a thick, scaly tail and is very wary of people. Because you rarely see one, the signs matter all the more:
- Droppings of around one and a half to two centimetres, often in small groups.
- Regular runs along walls and fences, with dark greasy marks.
- Burrows with a smooth entrance under paving, the shed or the compost heap.
- Gnawed holes in wooden doors, plastic pipes or rubbish bags.
- Scratching at night in a ceiling, cavity wall or crawl space.
Where do the rats come from?
Rats that turn up indoors very often come from the sewer. A broken pipe under the floor, a loose joint in the crawl space or a disused drain that was never capped is all they need. A rodding eye with a missing cap or a poorly covered inspection chamber in the garden is another well-known route.
Above ground it is all about food and shelter. Bird food on the ground, a chicken run, an open compost heap or rubbish bags left outside attract rats from far and wide. A cluttered shed or a pile of wood against the fence then gives them a safe place to nest.
How our rat control works
Our approach starts with detective work. We follow the runs, locate the burrows and check the crawl space for a leak in the drains. If we suspect a sewer problem, we advise a camera survey by a drainage specialist and a rat flap (rattenklep), which keeps rats out of the pipe while waste water still flows away freely.
At the same time we deal with the rats that are already there, using traps or professional bait in locked, anchored bait stations; only certified pest controllers may use these products. Holes in walls and floors are sealed with materials a rat cannot get through, such as metal mesh or cement. On the follow-up visit we check whether the bait is still being eaten.
Tackling rats yourself: what helps and what does not
If you want to do something while you wait for us, focus on food and hiding places. Remove bird food, put rubbish in a closed wheelie bin, clear the wood stacked against the fence and keep the lid on the compost bin. That makes your garden less attractive straight away.
Leave the poison on the shelf, though. Rats are suspicious of anything new, and poison used incorrectly is more likely to harm the neighbours' cat, a hedgehog or birds than the rat itself. Filling in a burrow is pointless as long as the cause remains: they simply dig a new one next to it. Getting rid of rats only works when the source, the food and the animals are all tackled together.
Rats in the street or on your own property?
Where the rat is decides who you call. Problems in public space, such as a play area, a canal-side quay or the pavement next to an underground waste container, should be reported to the municipality of The Hague (gemeente Den Haag). If it concerns your own home, garden or business premises, we handle it, even when the animals seem to come from outside. If you rent, let your landlord or VvE know as well.
Seeing smaller animals and much smaller droppings? Then it is probably mice; see our page on mouse control. An overview of all the pests we treat can be found on our page about pest control in The Hague.
