Even traps didn't help: rats infest a house

A family living in the town of Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales, said they could hear rats running inside their house walls. Gemma and Sean Williams stated that although traps, poisoned bait, and pest control services were used to get rid of the rodents, the problem has still not been resolved.

The family had been fighting rats outside their home for nearly two years. Later, it turned out that the rodents had also gotten inside the apartment. Gemma assumes they may have entered through various faults in the house, including gaps around cupboards and pipes.

Gemma, a 36-year-old council worker, said the rats live in the cavities between the walls and mostly move around at night.

“We hear them running around between the walls at night. There is even a dead rat inside the wall,” she said.

The family said that one morning they woke up to find items scattered across the kitchen. Bread and cookies had been eaten by rats, and some products were even carried away and hidden. In addition, work clothes were chewed up by the rodents.

Rat droppings were found in the kitchen equipment and the utility room. Meanwhile, the rodents' urine got onto the family's clothes, children's clothes, and the floor.

Trying to solve the problem on their own, Gemma and Sean spent hundreds of pounds on traps, rat bait, and special cages.

Then a pest control service was called to the house. Experts sealed off some of the entry points for the rodents, and the family thought the problem was finally over.

However, about a week later, the rats appeared again.

“Everything was quiet for about a week. Then it got worse. The rats returned to the kitchen, rummaged through the food, and even started entering my son's room,” Gemma said.

The family was forced to install surveillance cameras inside the apartment to prove that the rodents were indeed roaming the house. According to Gemma, the cameras captured rats coming out of a hole in the wall and moving around the house.

“We have hours of footage of them. We had to install CCTV in our own home as proof so that they would listen to us,” she said.

Because the rats also ruined the children's clothes, the family was forced to buy new school uniforms and clothes. Gemma's own clothes were also chewed up by the rodents.

Repeatedly washing the clothes has also become a separate challenge for the family.

“Every time I wash the laundry and get everything organized, we have to bring it all back down because it reeks of rat urine,” Gemma said.

A spokesperson for Torfaen Council stated that resolving the issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Bron Afon Housing Association. A request for comment has been sent to this housing organization.