Rat in my ceiling. What am I gonna do?

Brian Turner doesn’t have a rat in his kitchen, but there is one in his ceiling, and just like the lyrics of the UB40 song he’s not sure what to do about it.

This month the rodent, or rodents, repeatedly chewed through tough plastic water pipes in his roof, causing water to flood through Turner’s New Plymouth home.

He’s had to call in a plumber to fix the leaks, but the cost of repairing the damage to his ceiling, carpet, wallpaper and warped door frames is set to reach an estimated $8000 - and he still hasn’t gotten rid of the problem.

‘‘There was water dripping from the ceiling and the carpet was damp,’’ Turner said.

While the cost of repairs would be covered by insurance, Turner has had to put up with weeks of inconvenience.

He’s had no water with which to shower or do the washing, he’s had to put up with the constant sound of commercial dryers during the clean up and his home has been filled with the smell of damp furnishings.

‘‘For the first week the noise was horrendous.’’

Turner even tried to get away for a few days last week to relax, but again returned home a sodden house.

‘‘I came back on Sunday and the floor was damp again.

‘‘It doesn’t manifest itself until it’s coming through the ceiling.’’

He said there were no signs of where the vermin had gained entry to his home, or if they were nesting, but he has now set traps and was using a rodent repellent in the hope of finally seeing-off the furry invaders.

‘‘I’m gutted. What if it happens again? The worry is the rats might come back.’’

Turner said he would be waiting for his wife, Bessie, to return from a holiday to the United States before making any decorating decisions.

‘‘We have got to choose wallpaper and would you choose wallpaper without your wife’s consent?’’

Jeff Wills, of Bio-Tech Pest Con- trol, said the main reason rodents headed indoors was for warmth.

‘‘Normally you are just going to hear them in your ceiling and you will hear them at nights,’’ Wills said.

Gnawing on water pipes wasn’t a sign rodents were after fluids, it was mainly done to keep their teeth sharp and to stop them growing too big, he said.

Rats were also able to chew their way through uncured concrete.

Wills said the vermin didn’t need much of an invitation to move in, with a mouse able to slip through a six millimetre hole and a rat through a mere 20mm.