Home Community and neighbourhoodsHelp to keep rats out!
rodent in rubbish

Help to keep rats out!

by Jonathan Kearney

While it’s almost impossible to rid any area of common pests like rats and mice, there are steps that everyone – residents, landlords, landowners, the council and other partners – can take to help control rats and importantly keep them away from homes, businesses and gardens.

How to keep rats away

  • Seal entry points: Check for potential entry points around your home and seal them with pest proof materials.
  • Store food properly: Keep food in airtight containers to prevent access to food sources.
  • Clean up waste: Regularly clean up clutter and waste in your garden and around your home.
  • Trim vegetation: Trim back tree branches and shrubs that could provide access points to your home.
  • Overgrown gardens Cut back any overgrown vegetation so it is no higher than one foot from the ground and ensure all garden waste is disposed of appropriately.
  • Disposing of food waste: Put food waste in the correct bin as soon as possible.
  • Feeding wildlife and birds: Avoid feeding wildlife especially from the ground.
  • Maintain drains: Keep drains clear and avoid causing blockages.

What you can do if you have a problem with rats?

Follow the advice above to prevent rats.

  • Contact your landlord if there are repairs that need carrying out in your property.
  • If you are concerned about rats in your home and need further advice please contact the council’s Environmental Health service on 0151 443 4712 or email environmentalhealth@knowsley.gov.uk

What action is being taken by the council?

  • Litter picking and street cleansing: Alongside its general waste and recycling collections, the council also provides daily litter picking across the borough and street cleansing activities, targeted around shopping areas and schools to ensure waste is cleared quickly and no opportunities are created for rats to nest.
  • Multi-agency action days: The council, working alongside partners, carries out monthly action days across the borough targeting key issues impacting on residents. This includes removing fly tipping and litter, where rats can nest, along with other issues such as dog fouling, graffiti and carrying out sewer baiting.
  • Clearing fly tipping: The council also operates a swift response system to tackle any reports of fly-tipping which can attract rats and provide temporary shelter.
  • Advice and support from Environmental Health: The council’s Environmental Health team are regularly out and about across the borough to identify potential issues or sites where rats could be attracted – such as land where waste or undergrowth may have been allowed to accumulate. In those cases, the council either clears the site or works with the landowner to ensure they do.
  • Working with landlords: The council also takes a proactive approach to working with landlords (including registered social landlords and private landlords) to ensure that they fulfil their statutory obligations and are proactive in tackling and preventing pests. This includes ensuring that properties with overgrown gardens and excess rubbish are cleared swiftly.
  • Advice to householders and businesses: General advice and guidance is provided to homeowners and occupiers of properties (residents and commercial) and council officers make regular visits to properties to identify areas of risk such as structural defects which are allowing pests to gain access. If issues are identified (structural defects, overgrown land accumulations of waste) and action is not being taken, notices under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 are served. The council has the power to the enter the land to inspect or enforce notices.  In the last 12 months 152 notices have been issued.
  • Sewer baiting: In Knowsley, the council jointly funds a sewer-baiting programme with United Utilities (this is a £15,000 investment per year from the council in this programme) who are responsible for the work being carried out. This helps to control the rat population across the borough. Between April 2024 and April 2025 165 sewers were baited, with that figure increasing to 241 from April 2025 to 31 March 2026. A regular programme of sewer baiting continues across the borough.
  • Working with developers: Where new development is taking place, the council works closely with developers – placing an obligation on them to identify the risk of pest displacement and ensure that solutions are implemented to reduce the impact on neighbouring properties and the local area.

Where rat infestations do occur, Knowsley Council provides a Pest Control Service – find out more here.