Why Stone’s Canal-Side Homes Are a Hotspot for Rats

Stone is one of the prettiest market towns in Staffordshire, and a big part of that is the Trent & Mersey Canal cutting straight through the middle of it. Narrowboats, towpath walks, the wharves around Westbridge Park — it’s the kind of setting that pulls people to live here in the first place.

But if you own a property within a few hundred metres of the water, you may have noticed an unwelcome side effect of canal-side living: rats. Of all the rat callouts we attend in Stone, the overwhelming majority come from homes near the canal. Here’s why — and what you can actually do about it.

Why canals are a rat’s dream home

Rats need three things to thrive, and a canal hands them all three on a plate.

• Water. A canal is a permanent, predictable, year-round water source. Drought, frost, hosepipe ban — doesn’t matter.
• Food. Picnic scraps, fishing bait, leftovers from people feeding the ducks, food packaging dropped off boats, overflowing towpath bins. A rat doesn’t have to work hard for a meal.
• Shelter. Soft banks for burrowing, undergrowth for cover, and the brick voids of old canal infrastructure (locks, bridges, wharves) for nesting. The Trent & Mersey is over 250 years old — that’s a lot of accumulated rat real estate.

The canal effectively acts as a rat motorway through the centre of Stone. Rats won’t stay on the towpath if there’s an easier meal in your garden, and “easier” doesn’t take much — an unsecured wheelie bin or a bird feeder is plenty.

The Stone areas where we get the most callouts

The pattern is consistent. Properties within roughly 100 metres of the canal — particularly those backing directly onto the towpath — account for the bulk of rat callouts we attend in Stone. The hotspots include:

• Streets backing onto the canal between Stone Lock and Aston-by-Stone
• Older terraced housing near Westbridge Park
• Properties around the Yarnfield Lane bridge
• Newer canal-side developments where the landscaping hasn’t fully matured and entry points haven’t been sealed

Aston-by-Stone, Walton and the town centre see their share of rat problems too, though usually for different reasons — older drains, food premises and so on. But if you’ve moved into a canal-side property and the previous owner didn’t mention a rodent history, don’t assume there isn’t one.

Five signs you may already have a rat problem

Most people don’t actually see a rat — they spot the evidence first. Things to look for:

1. Droppings in the garage, shed, loft, or under the kitchen sink. Rat droppings are dark, cylindrical, and roughly the size of a grain of rice.
2. Gnaw marks on garden hose, plastic pipes, electrical cables, timber decking or shed doors.
3. Greasy smudges along skirting boards, fence panels or beam edges. Rats follow the same routes repeatedly and leave a dark “smear” from the oils in their fur.
4. Burrows at the base of sheds, decking, compost heaps or thick shrubs — typically 5–10cm wide with a smooth, well-used opening.
5. Scratching or scuttling in walls, ceilings or lofts, especially at dusk and through the night.

What you can do today (without calling anyone)

Prevention beats treatment. A few quick wins that genuinely make a difference:

• Cut off the food supply. Wheelie bin lids fully closed, bird feeders moved well away from the house, no pet food left out overnight, fallen apples and pears picked up off the lawn.
• Block easy entry points. Rats can squeeze through a gap the size of a 50p coin. Check under external doors, around drainpipes, where utility cables enter the house, and any old air bricks.
• Keep the garden tidy. Long grass, log piles stacked against the house, and dense shrubs touching the brickwork all give rats cover to approach unseen.
• Look at your drains. Cracked drains and missing rodding-eye covers are a classic Stone rat route — especially in the older terraces. If yours haven’t been checked in a decade, a CCTV drain survey is worth every penny.

When you need a professional

Shop-bought traps and supermarket poisons are fine for a one-off mouse. They rarely solve a rat problem near a canal, and here’s why: as quickly as you remove the rats in your garden, more move in from the towpath. Without a proper integrated plan that addresses the source of pressure, you’re treating symptoms forever.

That’s where we come in. Town & Country Pest Control are RSPH approved, members of the National Pest Technicians Association, and Google Guaranteed for the Stone area. Our pest control service in Stone starts with a free, no-obligation survey — we identify entry points, assess pressure from the canal, and put together a proper Integrated Pest Control Programme so the rats stop coming back.

If you’ve spotted any of the signs above — or you’d just like a professional second opinion before things escalate — book a survey on our Stone pest control page, or call us on 07971 571 171.

What about other pests in Stone?

Rats are the headline canal-side issue, but Stone homeowners should also keep an eye out for:

• Mice — particularly in the older terraces where cavity walls and aged floorboards make easy nesting sites.
• Wasps — May to September is peak nest season, and Stone’s Victorian and Edwardian roof voids are popular real estate.
• Feral pigeons — increasingly common around the High Street and the station area.

We cover all of them across Stone, Walton, Aston-by-Stone, Yarnfield, Meaford, Tittensor, Barlaston, Swynnerton, Hilderstone, Oulton and Sandon. Whatever’s turned up — get in touch and we’ll take a look.