Pest Control Rye

Pest Control in Rye

Rye is one of the most photographed towns in England, perched on a hill above the flat Romney Marsh with its cobbled streets, medieval buildings and the Rother Estuary curving around its base. The town is a magnet for visitors, but its age and riverside setting also make it a place where pests have always been at home. Rats live along the River Rother, in the harbour area and around the old warehouses and boatyards at the bottom of the hill. They follow the river and the drainage ditches on the marsh right up to the edge of the town and the medieval buildings on the hill have cellars and passages that have been used by rats for hundreds of years.

The timber-framed and tile-hung houses along Mermaid Street and the Mint have the kind of gaps between old beams, around uneven windows and through worn floorboards that mice use to move around unseen. The restaurants, pubs and tea rooms that line the streets generate food waste that supports a rodent presence in the centre and the age of the buildings makes proofing a real challenge. The harbour and the fish market attract gulls that nest on rooftops and scavenge aggressively and seagull problems are one of the most common complaints in the town during the summer.

Wasps find excellent nesting spots in the old roof tiles, wall cavities and outbuildings that are found throughout Rye and the surrounding marshland and meadows provide foraging. Bed bugs can show up in the hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets that serve the steady stream of tourists and they spread quickly in buildings where guests come and go regularly. The proximity to the marsh also means that some ground-floor properties deal with damp-related pests like silverfish.