Manchester Pest Solutions treats homes across Eccles and Swinton, including Monton, Patricroft and Wardley. We deal with mice, rats, wasp nests, squirrels in lofts, bed bugs and nuisance pigeons, choosing methods that keep children and pets safe. Ring or send us a message to book, and we'll offer the earliest slot we have, often the same day.
Terraces, tower blocks and a foundry site turned housing
Look across Eccles and two kinds of home catch the eye: high-rise blocks standing over the town, and long rows of Victorian brick terraces beneath them. In Barton ward almost half of all homes are terraced, with about 300 more built between 1994 and 2004. The town grew up around cotton and silk mills, and at Patricroft the ground where James Nasmyth ran the Bridgewater Foundry, later a Royal Ordnance Factory, now carries a housing estate.
Each type of home gives mice its own route. Under a terrace, the floor void and loft can run past several front doors, so mice caught at one house are often living next door too. Tower blocks link flats through service risers and pipe boxing, and even newer estate houses have holes cut for cables that were never filled. On a mice control visit, finding that route matters more than the bait.
Why do Ellesmere Park houses get squirrels in the attic?
Ellesmere Park has been a conservation area since 1981. South of Rutland Road, over three quarters of the houses date from the Victorian years or just after, mostly detached and semi-detached homes of two or three storeys, many with attic rooms, behind long front gardens and brick and stone walls. Mature trees fill the area, and a good number are covered by tree preservation orders.
For a grey squirrel that’s close to perfect. A branch reaching towards the eaves makes a ready ramp, and a loose slate or soft fascia opens onto a dry attic. Scampering overhead around dawn is the classic sign. Our squirrel removal work deals with the animals, then closes the hole. Two legal points matter: a trapped grey squirrel can’t be released into the wild, and cutting back a protected tree usually needs the council’s consent first.
Wasps around Monton Green and the bigger gardens
Monton has a conservation area of its own, taking in Monton Green (once common land, now laid out as lawns and gardens), the Unitarian Church and a former school with its caretaker’s house. Between those green spaces and the large, tree-lined plots of Ellesmere Park, queens have plenty of sheltered places to start a nest in spring: sheds, wall cavities, compost bins and the underside of eaves. Nests reach their biggest in late summer, which is when most calls for wasp nest removal come in. An old nest isn’t reused the following year, but the gap it was built in can be, so winter is a good time to fill it.
Does living near the Bridgewater Canal mean rats?
Not automatically, though it raises the odds. The canal runs through Winton and Monton, with the railway alongside it at Monton, and skirts the southern side of Swinton. At Barton, the swing aqueduct took over from Brindley’s original crossing when the Manchester Ship Canal, which borders Eccles to the south, was dug. Brown rats swim well and favour soft banks, overgrown verges and the quiet margins of the M602 and the railway lines.
If your garden is close to the towpath, feed birds from a tray you clear before dusk, keep compost in a closed bin and block gaps under sheds and decking. Our rat control visits look at drains, airbricks and boundaries as closely as the bait points.
What’s been happening on Heron Street?
In September 2026, people living on Heron Street in Swinton told local democracy reporters that rats were getting into their homes, and that gulls were gathering on the shed roof of the Fresh Start Waste recycling site next door. The company denies being the source of the problems and says it has increased independent pest checks, while the council notes that the Environment Agency is responsible for the site’s permit.
We won’t guess where those rats come from. One resident described several pest control visits without the problem ending, which shows why sealing a house matters as much as treating it. Keep a dated note of sightings and raise concerns about the site with the Environment Agency.
Will the town-centre demolition push rats into nearby homes?
It can. Phase 1 of Eccles Shopping Centre, the multi-storey car park and the market hall came down by December 2025. Charles House, the office block on John William Street, is due to follow in 2026/27, with new building expected from early 2028. Breaking up old foundations and drains disturbs rats and mice that have lived there quietly for years, and some head for the nearest warm building. If you live within a few streets, check that airbricks are intact, door brushes reach the step and pipe gaps are filled. Swinton may see something similar, as the cleared former St Ambrose Barlow school site is now in the council’s housing pipeline.
Three-weekly bins and the food caddy
Salford is one of five Greater Manchester councils that empty black general-waste bins only every three weeks. Check Salford City Council’s website for current pest control services and charges. Three weeks is a long time for a split bag in a warm yard, so using the caddy properly does more good than any spray. The council also suggests putting only small amounts on bird tables and keeping the ground under feeders clear, and it wants rats seen in public places reported, because those reports steer its sewer baiting programme.
Safe with children, dogs and cats
Before choosing a method, we ask who lives with you: a baby crawling on the kitchen floor, say, or a dog that digs by the fence. Rodent bait only goes into locked, tamper-resistant boxes that are fixed down or tucked out of reach, and in homes with cats or dogs we’ll often use boxed traps instead. Wasp dust goes into the nest entrance and nowhere else, and we’ll tell you which area to keep children and pets out of, and for how long. Everything we put down, we take away.
Renting a flat or terrace
Tell your landlord, letting agent or housing association in writing as soon as you spot signs. Repairs to the structure and exterior, which covers the gaps mice and rats squeeze through, usually fall to the landlord under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. We’re happy to work with landlords directly and send a short written report.
Can Salford City Council deal with it?
Many councils run a pest control service for residents, but what is covered, who can book and the charges all vary and can change, so check the council’s own pest control pages before you book. If you rent, report the problem to your landlord first. If you would rather book a private firm, call or message us and we’ll offer the earliest slot we have.
Shops, cafés and bars
The independent cafés and shops of Eccles town centre, Monton’s newer bars and restaurants and the units in Swinton Square’s dated precinct all get the same friendly service, with a written note of each visit for your food hygiene records.
Getting to you
Every street in M30 and M27 is on our patch, and we work in Salford, Prestwich and Urmston too. Eccles lies about 3.7 miles west of Manchester, with Swinton a little over four miles out. We won’t promise an arrival time we can’t keep, but we’ll offer the earliest slot we have, often the same day.
Common pests in Eccles & Swinton homes
Rats
Gardens near the Bridgewater Canal in Winton and Monton, and Swinton streets such as Heron Street where residents reported rats getting indoors in 2026, need drains and airbricks checked as carefully as the bait points are placed.
Mice
Victorian brick terraces make up much of Eccles and nearly half of Barton ward's homes, so mice often travel through shared lofts and under-floor voids from one house to the next.
Squirrels
Ellesmere Park's Victorian houses often have attics and sit among mature, frequently protected trees, giving grey squirrels an easy jump from branch to roofline and a dry loft for the winter.
Wasps & Hornets
The long gardens, old walls and big trees of Ellesmere Park, and the lawns and gardens around Monton Green, give queens plenty of sheltered places to build in sheds, eaves and cavities each summer.
Bird Control
Pigeons around Eccles Shopping Centre were troublesome enough for a peregrine falcon to be flown there, and the ledges and balconies of the town's tower blocks give the same birds places to roost and nest.
Bed Bugs
With so many Eccles households living in tower blocks, bed bugs carried into one flat on luggage or second-hand furniture can reach the neighbours through sockets and pipe runs, so we check beyond the room that called us.
We also deal with:
Can I get Salford City to deal with it?
Check the Salford City Council website for current pest control services, who can book and what it charges, because these change. If you rent, ask your landlord who is responsible for treatment.
Check the council's pest control page (we last checked it on 2026-10-24).
Why Eccles & Swinton gets the pests it does
- Tower blocks stand out across Eccles, in sharp contrast to its rows of Victorian brick terraced houses. [Wikipedia]
- Close to half the homes in the Barton ward of Eccles are terraced, and roughly 300 more were built there between 1994 and 2004. [Wikipedia]
- In the Victorian core of the Ellesmere Park Conservation Area, south of Rutland Road, more than three quarters of the houses were built in or just after the Victorian era, many with attics, large gardens and mature trees protected by preservation orders. [Salford City Council]
- Temporary prefabricated houses went up in Swinton around 1948 as part of the Deanscourt Housing Estate. [University of Salford]
- The Bridgewater Canal passes through Winton and Monton, with the railway running beside it at Monton, and continues to the south of Swinton. [Wikipedia]
- In September 2026 Heron Street residents in Swinton reported rats inside their homes and gulls gathering on the shed roof of the neighbouring waste site; the operator denies being the source and the Environment Agency regulates the site's permit. [Brit Brief (Local Democracy Reporting Service)]
- Phase 1 of Eccles Shopping Centre, the market hall and the multi-storey car park were demolished by December 2025, Charles House is due to follow in 2026/27, and new development is expected to start in early 2028. [Salford City Council]
- A peregrine falcon was brought to Eccles Shopping Centre in 2017 to scare away the pigeons gathering there. [Salford Now]
Pest control in Eccles & Swinton: your questions
Do you cover Monton, Winton, Patricroft and the Swinton side of M27?
Yes. We work across both postcode districts. M30 takes in Eccles itself along with Monton, Winton, Patricroft, Peel Green, Barton-upon-Irwell and Ellesmere Park, and M27 covers Swinton, Wardley, Clifton, Pendlebury and Agecroft. That includes the Deanscourt estate, the terraces and tower blocks around Eccles town centre and the roads near Victoria Park in Swinton. If you're not sure whether your street is inside our patch, just ask when you get in touch.
What does Salford City Council offer households in Eccles and Swinton?
Many councils run a pest control service for residents, but what is covered, who can book and the charges all vary and can change, so check the council's own pest control pages before you book. If you rent, report the problem to your landlord first. If you would rather book a private firm, call or message us and we'll offer the earliest slot we have.
We live near Heron Street in Swinton. What can we do about rats?
Start with your own house, because that's the part you control. Look for broken airbrick grilles, gaps where pipes enter the walls and drain inspection covers that don't sit flat, and keep food scraps in the lidded caddy. Jot down when and where you see rats. Concerns about the waste site itself belong with the Environment Agency, which the council says is responsible for its permit. We can treat rats already in your home or garden and then seal the routes they're using.
There's scratching in the attic of our Ellesmere Park house. Could it be squirrels?
Quite possibly, particularly if the noise starts around dawn and goes quiet at night, since mice and rats are busier after dark. The attic houses and mature trees of Ellesmere Park suit grey squirrels, which chew insulation, timber and sometimes cables. We'll confirm what's up there, remove the squirrels and close the gap they're using. A caught grey squirrel can't legally be released, and if the tree giving them access is under a preservation order, you'll usually need the council's consent before cutting it back.
Could the Eccles town centre demolition send rats into nearby houses?
It's possible, so it's sensible to get ready. The first phase of the shopping centre, the market hall and the multi-storey car park have already gone, Charles House on John William Street is due down in 2026/27, and new building is expected from early 2028. Rats and mice living in old foundations and drains often move on when that ground is broken up. Check door seals, airbricks and pipe gaps now, and call us at the first sign of droppings or gnawing.
I rent a flat in an Eccles tower block. Who should arrange treatment?
Report it to your landlord or housing association in writing straight away, which is also what Salford City Council tells renters to do. Mice, cockroaches and bed bugs in a block rarely keep to one flat, so the landlord is best placed to arrange checks on neighbouring flats and shared areas such as bin stores. If your landlord asks us to help, we'll inspect, treat and send a short report of what we found and what needs repairing.
Do three-weekly black bin collections make rats more likely?
They can, if food ends up in the black bin. Salford empties general waste every three weeks, but food waste goes weekly in the green caddy or pink-lidded bin, so keeping scraps out of the black bin removes most of the temptation. Bag food waste, keep lids shut, rinse tins and avoid standing bins on soft ground that rats can dig under. A bin with gnaw marks or a split at the base is worth replacing.
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