In short: in Oldham the council treats rats and mice for a charge (free once a year if you get Council Tax Reduction). Once they have gone, we strip out the soiled insulation damp, disinfect the loft, seal the ways in and refill it. Removal-only clear-outs start from £699, priced from a couple of photos taken at the loft hatch.
One of our worst rat jobs was in Oldham: five dead rats in the loft, all of the old insulation soiled, and two places where they were getting in. The insulation came out, the whole loft was decontaminated and the entry points were filled. If rats or mice have been in your loft, the insulation is usually past saving, and that is the job we do once they have been dealt with.
What a Bad One Looks Like: Five Dead Rats in an Oldham Loft
On this job the rats had been in the loft long enough to soil all of the insulation, and five had died up there. Everything came out damp and double-bagged, the loft was decontaminated, and the two places they were getting in were filled before the loft was refilled. If you have a smell after treatment, our guide to dead rat smell in the loft explains what is going on.
Most lofts we see aren't that bad. Usually it is droppings along the eaves or around the water tank, a few tunnels through the insulation and a smell of ammonia. The point of the Oldham job is what happens when rodents are left for a long time: the soiling spreads through every layer, and there is nothing worth keeping. The sooner the rodents are treated and the loft is cleared, the less there is to strip out. If you aren't sure what you have, start with rats in the loft or mice in the loft.
Why Rats and Mice Get Into Oldham Lofts
Oldham grew around its cotton mills, and much of its housing is the terraced streets built for them, in stone and brick, in Werneth, Glodwick, Coldhurst, Westwood, Hathershaw and Clarksfield. Further out are the semis and newer estates of Chadderton, Royton, Shaw, Failsworth and Lees, and the hillside villages of Saddleworth.
- Long terraced rows. Where the party walls in the loft don't reach the roof, rodents can travel along the row from one roof space to the next.
- Old drainage. The terraced streets sit on old drains, and a broken pipe lets rats into the cavity and up to the loft; see rats in the walls.
- Canals and rivers. The Rochdale Canal runs through Failsworth and Chadderton, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal through Saddleworth, alongside the Medlock, the Beal and the Tame.
- Saddleworth. Stone cottages and farmhouses next to open countryside, where wood mice come indoors in autumn and rats come in from farm buildings.
Mill terraces
The terraces around the old mills in Werneth, Glodwick, Coldhurst and Hathershaw are where we see rodents travel furthest. A loft that is open along the row means one untreated house can keep the whole street topped up, which is why it pays to talk to your neighbours and get the row treated together. The back streets behind the terraces, with bins and old drains, give rats cover right up to the back wall.
Stone, slopes and Pennine weather
Oldham sits on the edge of the Pennines, and a lot of its older houses are stone. Old lime mortar weathers out over the years, leaving gaps that a mouse can get through and a rat can widen. On a hillside street, the back of the house is often lower than the front, and air bricks and pipe runs at ground level at the back are a common way in. Damp lofts are common too, which is one more reason soiled insulation is better out than left to sit.
Saddleworth cottages and farms
In Uppermill, Delph, Dobcross, Diggle and Greenfield, the old weavers' cottages and farmhouses have roof spaces that can be shallow and awkward, and sit right next to fields, stables and farm buildings. Wood mice come in every autumn, and rats come in from outbuildings and along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Old stone houses near open country are also where bats roost, so if the droppings crumble to dust, stop and get advice before anything is disturbed.
Semis and newer estates
In Chadderton, Royton, Shaw, Failsworth and Lees, lofts are bigger and rats most often get in at the eaves, through broken air bricks or up the cavity from a broken drain. Homes near the Rochdale Canal in Failsworth and Chadderton, and the Medlock, Beal and Tame, are close to where brown rats live; if you keep getting them back, check the drains first. Here is how the drain route works and how a one-way valve stops it.
Council Pest Control in Oldham
Oldham Council's pest control team treats rats and mice in homes for a charge, and residents who receive Council Tax Reduction can have one free treatment a year. Call 0161 770 2244 or email pestcontrol@oldham.gov.uk. If you rent from a social landlord such as First Choice Homes, report it to your landlord instead.
The council treats the rodents. Clearing the soiled insulation, disinfecting the loft and refilling it is a separate job, and that is where we come in.
The Order Things Happen In
- Get the rodents treated. Book Oldham Council or a private pest controller (ideally a BPCA or NPTA member). Tenants of First Choice Homes or another social landlord go through their landlord.
- Send us photos while treatment is under way. A couple of photos from the hatch through the quote form is enough for a written price, so the job is ready to book.
- Wait for the all-clear. Once there are no fresh droppings and no more noise, usually after the follow-up visit, the loft can be cleared. New insulation laid while rodents are still active just gets soiled again.
- Sort any drain problem. If the rats were coming up from a broken drain, that is a job for a drainage firm. We can fit a one-way valve where that is the route.
- We clear, disinfect, seal and refill. Usually in a day for a terrace or semi, and you pay the balance at the end once you have checked the loft.
What Is Different About an Oldham Job
The clean-up itself is the same everywhere: everything is misted before it is touched, bagged damp and double-bagged, the loft is vacuumed back to the joists with an industrial extractor and disinfected with Virkon S, and once it is dry the entry holes are sealed with mesh and new insulation goes in to 270mm or deeper. The full step-by-step is on our main rodent-damaged loft insulation removal page. What changes in Oldham is the house around it.
- Small hatches in terraces. Everything comes out bagged through the hatch and down the stairs, so we sheet the landing and stairs before we start.
- Gaps in stone and old mortar. On stone houses the ways in are often weathered joints rather than one obvious hole, so sealing takes a careful look round the outside as well as from inside the loft.
- Steep streets and tight parking. On the hillside terraces it helps to know where the van can stop; tell us when you send photos.
- Old insulation in layers. Older Oldham lofts often have two or three generations of insulation on top of each other, sometimes with loose fill underneath. If we find anything that looks like vermiculite, we stop: it needs testing for asbestos before anyone touches it, and removing it isn't a job we do.
Don't be tempted to lay a new roll over the top of soiled insulation. The droppings, urine and any dead rodents stay underneath, the smell comes back on warm days, and it gives the next lot a ready-made nest. No insulation is rodent-proof on its own either; do rats eat loft insulation explains why sealing the way in matters more than what you refill with.
What It Costs
Removal-only clear-outs start from £699, with disinfection and new insulation priced on top. A small terrace loft with droppings in one corner costs less than a big semi where they have been everywhere, so every price is written up from photos rather than a flat rate. If you are claiming on home insurance, check the policy first, as many exclude vermin damage; we can supply before and after photos and an itemised invoice.
Get a Price
Send a couple of photos from the loft hatch and we will come back with a written price.
Or email info@loftrestore.co.uk. Covering Oldham, Saddleworth and the rest of Greater Manchester.
What We Do
- Strip out soiled insulation, damp
- Disinfect the loft with Virkon S
- Seal entry holes with mesh
- Refill to 270mm or deeper
- Photos of the finished loft
What We Don't Do
- Pest control (poison and traps): a pest controller's job
- Drain repairs: a drainage firm's job
- Asbestos or vermiculite removal
Areas We Cover in Oldham
- Oldham town centre
- Werneth and Coldhurst
- Glodwick and Clarksfield
- Westwood and Hathershaw
- Hollinwood
- Derker and Moorside
- Chadderton
- Royton
- Shaw and Crompton
- Failsworth
- Lees and Springhead
- Grotton
- Uppermill and Dobcross
- Delph and Diggle
- Greenfield
We also cover Manchester, Bolton and the rest of Greater Manchester. For loft insulation without the rodents, see our Oldham loft insulation page.
Rodent Guides
Not sure what you are dealing with yet? Start here.
Other Areas We Cover
We work across the whole of the UK. These are the areas where most of our rodent jobs are.
Oldham Rodent Clean-Up FAQs
Do you cover Saddleworth?
Yes: Uppermill, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle, Greenfield and the rest of the borough. Country cottages and farmhouses often get wood mice in autumn as well as rats, and the clean-up is the same.
Is Oldham Council's pest control free?
Not for everyone. Rats and mice in homes are treated for a charge, but residents who receive Council Tax Reduction can have one free treatment a year. Check the council's pest control page for current prices.
What if rats have died in the loft?
The carcasses come out with the soiled insulation, and the spots underneath are disinfected. That was the case on our Oldham job, where five dead rats were removed.
Do you work on stone terraced houses?
Yes. Stone and brick terraces are a lot of what we see in Oldham. The loft clean-up is the same; what differs is how the rats got in, which in terraced streets is often old drainage or a gap along the row.
What does a rodent loft clean-up cost in Oldham?
Removal-only clear-outs start from £699, with disinfection and new insulation priced on top. A small terrace loft with droppings in one corner costs less than a big semi where they have been everywhere, so we price from a couple of photos taken at the hatch.
My neighbours have rats too. Should we book together?
If you are in a terrace, yes, it is worth it. Rodents move along the row through the lofts, so treating and clearing one house on its own can mean they come straight back from next door. Get the row treated at the same time, and we can price each loft from its own photos.
Will the smell go once the dead rats are out?
Usually, yes. Most of the smell comes from carcasses and soiled insulation, and both come out on the day before the loft is disinfected. If a rat has died inside a wall or under a floor, that smell can take longer to clear; our guide to dead rat smell in the loft explains why.
I rent from First Choice Homes. Can I book you myself?
Report it to First Choice Homes or your social landlord first. They arrange pest treatment and any work on the loft for their tenants.
What if it is bats, not rats, in a Saddleworth loft?
Stop and don't disturb anything. Bats and their roosts are protected by law, and old stone houses next to open countryside are just where they turn up. Bat droppings crumble to dust when pressed; rodent droppings don't. If in doubt, get advice before any work goes ahead.