Hi everyone.
Back in the autumn, I had a problem with rats under the bath, they were under the floorboards, and didn't actually emerge from there (no droppings etc directly under the bath). I used poison to get them all, as there was no other way. A trap had been set under the bath, but sat there for weeks until the bait went mouldy. Once they had gone, I had a soffit on the ground floor porch replaced, and I hadn't heard anything since (upstairs anyway).
On 28th Jan, I heard the unmistakable scratching on the other side of the house, this time in the wall. I went outside, and saw a circular vent had been chewed, and dug out, with a lot of soil etc on the outside, meaning it had dug its way in. That evening, to my horror, when I got home, I saw three freshly laid droppings behind the dishwasher. I contacted a friend, who came round the following day with cement, and he cemented the vent over. Meanwhile, I went to B&M and bought two rat traps, baited them and put them behind the dishwasher.
I have checked those traps, at least twice daily since 29th Jan. Last night, I was preparing my dinner, and I heard a noise coming from behind the dishwasher. To my horror, I saw a young rat in a trap, sadly not dead, but trapped by his leg. I dispatched him with a concrete block, which wasn't pretty, and reset the trap. There's only one dropping behind the dishwasher, but I am absolutely flummoxed as to how the got there!
I've checked outside, and can't see any obvious breaches, I've not checked in the roof, simply because I haven't heard any noises coming from up there.
It was a young rat, approx 6-8 inches long with tail, and I'm concerned now that there may be more, even though there's no evidence in the kitchen.
Has anyone got any tips and advice as to where to look for entry points please? I want to sell this house, but I can't with this going on.