Manchester Pest Solutions handles rats in Levenshulme homes, yards and back entries across M19. We check the alley, yard and drains, set locked boxes where children and pets can't reach them, come back to check, then close the way in. Call or message us and we'll offer the earliest slot we have, often the same day.
Why are rats a back-entry problem in Levenshulme?
When we’re called to rats in M19, the alley is the first thing we look at, followed by the yard itself: holes at the base of walls, a gap under the yard door, gullies and grids, airbricks, and anywhere bins have stood in the same spot for years.
What’s going on under the floor?
Houses built around 1880 to 1890 often still sit on drains of a similar age. Clay pipes crack, joints shift, and branches that once served a removed sink or yard gully are sometimes left unsealed underground. Rats use those breaks to get from the sewer into the space beneath suspended timber floors and, from there, into wall cavities and kitchen units. Heavy scratching under the floorboards at night, or a stale smell near the back kitchen, often points this way.
Where we can, we lift the inspection covers on the first visit. If the drains look to be the route in, we’ll tell you plainly and say whether a camera survey or a one-way rat blocker is worth considering.
Does living near the park or the Loop make a difference?
It can. Highfield Country Park, on Levenshulme’s eastern edge, takes in 70 acres of old clay pit, brickworks and tipped landfill, dotted with ponds, and is now a Local Nature Reserve. The Fallowfield Loop crosses the neighbourhood along an old railway bed, and the main line between Manchester and London runs through Levenshulme station. Water, dense cover and quiet embankments all suit rats.
None of that means every nearby house will get them. It does mean that homes close to these edges, such as those around Broom Avenue and Nelstrop Road by the country park, are found faster when food is left out.
Stockport Road, empty plots and building work
Stockport Road carries a long run of takeaways, restaurants, a bakery, bars and a brewery taproom, along with the commercial bins that come with them. Empty land has been part of the picture too: the architect of the flats approved at 788 Stockport Road described the area as feeling neglected, with vacant sites and poorly kept buildings. Undisturbed ground gives rats somewhere to burrow in peace, and when building work finally starts, the groundworks can push them into neighbouring yards. If a site near you has just been cleared and rats have appeared at the same time, the two are often linked.
How does a rat job run here?
The steps match our main rat control service, fitted to a terrace and its yard. We’ll talk through what you’ve seen and who’s at home, then survey inside and out. Locked, tamper-resistant boxes holding traps or bait go along the routes rats use, fixed down so children playing in the yard or a curious dog can’t shift them. Rats are cautious around anything new, so a quiet first few days is normal. We come back after about a week to ten days, and most jobs take three visits spread over two or three weeks, ending with proofing and a full clear-up.
If you’re seeing small droppings in kitchen drawers rather than big ones by the bins, it’s more likely mice, and our mice control in Levenshulme page explains what we look for.
Keeping rats out of an M19 yard
A few changes make a yard far less inviting:
- stand bins on a hard surface with the lids shut, and keep bags off the ground between collections;
- fill holes at the foot of yard walls and around waste pipes with mortar, or wire wool and sealant;
- swap cracked airbrick grilles for mesh-backed ones, keeping the airflow the floor timbers need;
- feed birds from a tray, and keep compost in a closed bin;
- have a word with the neighbours, because rats in a back entry don’t care whose yard is whose.
What we tend to find in Levenshulme
- Drains beneath houses built around 1880 to 1890 are a common route for rats getting under suspended timber floors and into kitchens.
- The ponds and small lakes left in Highfield Country Park's old clay pit, and the old railway route of the Fallowfield Loop, give rats water and cover close to homes.
- Vacant plots and new building on Stockport Road, such as the long-empty site at 788 Stockport Road approved for flats, can unsettle rats and send them into nearby yards.
What happens when you call us
- 1
Tell us what you've seen
A quick chat about what you've seen or heard, where, and who lives in the house, pets included. We'll offer the earliest slot we have, often the same day.
- 2
A proper look round
Inside and out: decking, sheds, airbricks, pipe holes, the loft and the drain inspection covers, so we know where the rats are living, feeding and getting in.
- 3
Treatment set up for your home
Traps and, where it suits, bait in locked boxes fixed along the routes rats use, well away from little hands and paws. We show you where every box is.
- 4
Follow-up checks
We come back about a week to ten days later to check the boxes, move or top them up, and take away any dead rats we can reach.
- 5
Close the way in
Once the signs stop, we clear everything away and seal the gaps we found, or tell you plainly what a builder or drain specialist needs to put right.
Rat Control in Levenshulme: your questions
Rats are using our gated back entry. Who is responsible for the alley?
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 from a council or housing association, 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're near Highfield Country Park. Will you put poison down in the park?
Council services and charges change, so check the council's own website for the current position, and if you rent, ask your landlord first.
A plot near us on Stockport Road has just been cleared. Is that why we've got rats?
It may well be. Rats living undisturbed on an empty site or in a derelict building tend to move once diggers arrive, and the closest yards with food and shelter are where they head. Activity often settles when the groundworks finish, but any rats that have found a way under your floor will stay put while it suits them. Let us check where they're getting in, and mention the problem to the site manager, as builders are expected to control pests on their own sites.
Can you treat just my house if the whole terrace has rats?
We can, and it still helps, especially if rats are getting in through your own drains or a hole in your own wall. In a row of late-Victorian terraces, though, rats often move along shared voids, yards and the back entry, so a house treated on its own can see them return from next door. Where we can, we suggest neighbours have a survey at the same time. It's the surest way to stop the problem bouncing up and down the street.
Will rats go away on their own if I leave them?
Rarely. If your garden or home gives them food, water and shelter, rats have every reason to stay, and a pair can turn into a colony within a few months because young rats can breed themselves at around three months old. They sometimes seem to vanish for a while, then come back when the weather turns. The sooner the food is taken away and the way in is found, the smaller and quicker the job, so a single rat seen by the back door is worth getting looked at.
Can I legally put rat poison down in my garden?
You can use shop-bought rat poison, but only exactly as its label allows. Products sold to the public are generally meant for bait points inside or close around buildings, not scattered across lawns, borders or the back entry, and the bait should sit in a tamper-resistant box. Loose poison is a real danger to dogs, cats, children and to wildlife such as hedgehogs and birds of prey that eat poisoned rats. Professional-use rodenticides can only be supplied to people who can show certified competence under the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime.
Can rats really come up through the toilet?
It's uncommon, but it does happen. Rats swim well and live in sewers, and where a drain is cracked, badly joined or left open under the floor after old building work, they can find their way into the house or up through a toilet. If you hear scratching under a bathroom floor or see droppings near an inspection cover, we'll check the drains on our visit. Keeping the toilet lid down is a sensible stopgap, and a one-way rat blocker fitted in the drain can stop rats coming in from the sewer side.
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