November 22nd 2024.
In 2021, Sarah Hurst and her husband were excited to start trying for their third child. However, they quickly realized that their current house was no longer suitable for their growing family. It was time to start searching for a new home. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself in Ilkley, West Yorkshire at a significantly lower price than the market value. Without hesitation, they snatched up the property.
Upon moving in, they were pleased with the overall condition of the house. They had informed the previous owners that they were not able to immediately invest a large amount of money into renovations, hoping that this would deter any major issues. They were content with the deal and were willing to put in some work eventually.
Before purchasing the house, they had a routine survey done and noticed some rodent droppings in the loft. When they asked the owners about it, they were told that a squirrel had caused some trouble a few years ago and it had been taken care of. Trusting the previous owner's word, as she was also Sarah's doctor at the time, they proceeded with the purchase. However, upon moving in, Sarah, who was already six weeks pregnant, was certain that she could detect a musty odor that comes with a rat infestation. Her husband, on the other hand, was not convinced.
As the musty smell continued to worsen, they decided to call in pest control. The pest control worker confirmed Sarah's worst fears - there was not only a current rat infestation, but also remnants of a previous one. They were advised to get a drainage report to see if the rats were using the pipes as an entryway. To their surprise, as they were setting up the report, a rat strolled in front of the camera and into the kitchen through a hole in the pipes. The couple immediately took action by sealing up the hole and laying down more bait, hoping that this would solve the problem.
However, their troubles were far from over. They had to have the entire house rewired and replumbed due to extensive damage caused by the rats. During these repairs, they also discovered that the waste pipes in both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms had been chewed through, causing waste to go under the floors and subflooring of the house. Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, the electricians working on the house had to stop due to the overwhelming stench of decaying rat corpses found under the floorboards.
At this point, Sarah and her husband decided to contact the previous owners. Despite the fact that there had been recent bait laid and new rat corpses found, the previous owners claimed to have no knowledge of a rat problem. Upon further investigation, they found out that pest control had been to the house eight times in the past few months, with the last visit being the day before the family moved in. Although the previous owners were not legally required to disclose a rat infestation, Sarah believes that they should have been honest when asked directly.
Ultimately, Sarah and her husband had to pay for numerous repairs and expenses, including the removal of contaminated material from the loft. They even had to settle with the previous owners for a small amount, which wasn't enough to cover all the costs. Many of Sarah's followers were shocked and shared their own similar experiences with rat infestations in their homes. Despite the ordeal, Sarah and her family are now happily settled in their new home, with the added protection of a cat to keep any unwelcome rodents away.
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