I'm not sure if this forum is the right place for this question,however, I'm looking tobuy a house in Sandymouth Road but I've been told by three different sources that the houses on the road having on going issues with rats. Is this an issue that should put me off buying on the road? A neighbour of the house on the market that I was planning to bid on confirmed that they have had to get the pest control company in several times due to rats. I'm not sure whether I should walk away from this property or is this something I could possibly resolve using the right professionals? The house is very expensive so we do not want to paying pest control companies on an ongoing basis. Any guidance would be very much appreciated.
Case study Sandymount Road -Rats
- Thread starter Ellie123
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This particular house I'm to view this weekend. I have viewed another house on the road a while back which looked fine, to be honest I wouldn't have a notion what to look out for as a sign of rats. I was going to ask the agents dealing with the sale and if they don't give me a definitive answer, I was thinking of calling Dublin County Council. Currently I'm not living in the area so hard to know if there is an issue.
The estate agent is the last person on Earth that will tell you if there is a rat problem!
PaddyBloggit
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OP ... run (quickly)
I bought a house earlier this year as a holiday home, the neighbours told me of the rodent issues not the agent, there was a mouse and rat problem in the previous 12 months and on and off over years, I bought anyway, I could not access the attic until after I bought the house but there was evidence of droppings, rat and mouse traps and a rat cage up there.
I've cleaned out the clutter, closed up access points to the house and installed an ultrasonic in the attic and kitchen, so far so good, I made my decision to buy there based on location and price and my belief I could prevent an infestation through counter measures as decribed, that said a rat can climb almost vertically and access through the eaves is possible, I'll go daft if I get them in my ownership so my advice is to use this issue as a negotiation tool if you want the house and prepare for a good clean out and counter measures.
I've cleaned out the clutter, closed up access points to the house and installed an ultrasonic in the attic and kitchen, so far so good, I made my decision to buy there based on location and price and my belief I could prevent an infestation through counter measures as decribed, that said a rat can climb almost vertically and access through the eaves is possible, I'll go daft if I get them in my ownership so my advice is to use this issue as a negotiation tool if you want the house and prepare for a good clean out and counter measures.
Brendan Burgess
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Sandymount Road is not near the places mentioned in that councillor's question. They would have rich pickings on the strand and on Marine Drive long before they get near Sandymount Road.
The Dodder is a great wildlife habitat but again I would imagine that the rats wouldn't need to travel to Sandymount Road for a bit of warmth in the winter.
I live around the corner and can't think of any building or reason why rats would be more common there than anywhere else.
But why not ask a pest controller? I would have thought that any building can be made rat proof. And any building which is badly maintained could be easily accessed by rats.
Brendan
The Dodder is a great wildlife habitat but again I would imagine that the rats wouldn't need to travel to Sandymount Road for a bit of warmth in the winter.
I live around the corner and can't think of any building or reason why rats would be more common there than anywhere else.
But why not ask a pest controller? I would have thought that any building can be made rat proof. And any building which is badly maintained could be easily accessed by rats.
Brendan
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Brendan Burgess
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The local newspaper would probably know, so you could call them.
http://www.newsfour.ie/tag/sandymount-and-merrion-residents-association-samra/
Or the Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association.
Brendan
http://www.newsfour.ie/tag/sandymount-and-merrion-residents-association-samra/
Or the Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association.
Brendan
Brendan Burgess
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By an extraordinary coincidence, this morning, I saw a rat on Sandymount Strand for the first time in 15 years living here. I just caught it disappearing from the edge of the attached photo.
There really is nothing in Sandymount which would compensate you for the risk that you might have to pay a builder a few thousand euro to seal off your house to protect you against the possibility that a rat using its natural ratnav would leave the recycling bins on the beach and head off the half mile or so along the strand, up Marine Drive, past the rich pickings of the cafés and food shops in Sandymount Village down Sandymount Road to attack your house.
Brendan
There really is nothing in Sandymount which would compensate you for the risk that you might have to pay a builder a few thousand euro to seal off your house to protect you against the possibility that a rat using its natural ratnav would leave the recycling bins on the beach and head off the half mile or so along the strand, up Marine Drive, past the rich pickings of the cafés and food shops in Sandymount Village down Sandymount Road to attack your house.
Brendan
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DirectDevil
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The problem with rats is quite widespread in suburban Dublin anyhow. If rats could buy houses Sandymount would have many of their primary requirements in terms of food, water and shelter. Brendan's post[#15] covers it well. Indeed, I was depositing some bottles at the recycling bins at the Martello Tower recently when a sizeable rat trundled past in broad daylight without a bother - cocky little rodent.
A potential problem arises with older semi-detached houses. Some constructions may have air gaps at the bottom of the party wall. In that case your neighbour's rats have easy access to under your floors which are 99% likely to be timber with air space beneath. At least modern concrete ground floors don't have that problem.
You also have to consider the attic spaces. Again, depending on how the construction was done, you could get rats from a neighbouring house making their way across if the respective attic spaces are not completely sealed as you would expect with a modern build.
Externally, a domestic property is virtually impossible to rat proof. These days you are better taking the default view that if there are rats in the general area they visit your garden every night. That is why I freak at childrens' toys being left out in the garden overnight. Rats carry some very nasty diseases. Some carry a particularly dangerous bacterial infection named leptospirosis which is passed out in their urine. Imagine that being deposited on a toy in the night and then being handled by a child the next day - no thanks.
Some areas are just very attractive to rats on an ongoing basis because the food/water/shelter triangle is present locally.
A potential problem arises with older semi-detached houses. Some constructions may have air gaps at the bottom of the party wall. In that case your neighbour's rats have easy access to under your floors which are 99% likely to be timber with air space beneath. At least modern concrete ground floors don't have that problem.
You also have to consider the attic spaces. Again, depending on how the construction was done, you could get rats from a neighbouring house making their way across if the respective attic spaces are not completely sealed as you would expect with a modern build.
Externally, a domestic property is virtually impossible to rat proof. These days you are better taking the default view that if there are rats in the general area they visit your garden every night. That is why I freak at childrens' toys being left out in the garden overnight. Rats carry some very nasty diseases. Some carry a particularly dangerous bacterial infection named leptospirosis which is passed out in their urine. Imagine that being deposited on a toy in the night and then being handled by a child the next day - no thanks.
Some areas are just very attractive to rats on an ongoing basis because the food/water/shelter triangle is present locally.
When we were kids and went down the country on holidays we used to help in bringing in the hay and making the haystacks. We loved the sight of the scatter of rats and then handling the hay and making the large stacks back near the animal sheds. At night we used them as hiding spots and regularly had rats scatter when we dug into the bottom of them. Do you think your children will never do the same or something similar in their environ ? To quote 'Trigger' in Only Fools and horses, 'Never done me any 'arm ..... '
Brendan Burgess
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Hi DD
How common is Weil's disease in Ireland?
Very rare. No need to freak out at your kids' toys.
http://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/zoonotic/leptospirosis/factsheet/
Who is at risk of Leptospirosis?
People at greatest risk of acquiring leptospirosis include those who fish, swim or use water for other recreational purposes. This would include people who engage in outdoor pursuits that brings them in contact with at-risk water such as canoeing, hiking, pot-holing or golfing. Occupations at risk would include veterinary surgeons, farmers, meat inspectors, butchers, abattoir and sewer workers.
High risk water includes stagnant, dirty-looking or obviously polluted fresh water found in ditches, drains, ponds, lakes or rivers. Sea water poses less risk.
No mention there of toys.
Brendan