The problem with vermin getting into your house is that everyone knows it happens, but no one really prepares themselves properly until it is too late.

Too late is when rats have already chewed through your pipes and as a consequence flooded out your entire house, or when a mouse has caused the entire top floor of your house to become gutted by fire because it gnawed through some electrical wiring.

Its only human nature for us to put things off when its a job that needs doing and the job is one not right at the fore front of your mind. But consider this, if you do nothing about the vermin in your house, your insurance company might not cover you for the damage.

Sure, they will provide the cover if its a major situation where rats chew through a cable and it causes a fire, but in other scenarios where things like squirrels chew through furniture or vermin does some less serious damage, your insurance company could quite possibly turn around to you when the damage is done and tell you that you are on your own. You, as a result, are left to foot a bill worth thousands of pounds.

Saga Insurance is one company that gives cover against damage done by creatures like squirrels in all of its household policies, but most dont. For this reason its a good idea to look at prevention of vermin getting into your house in the first instance.

Both councils and insurance companies can help you prevent disasters being caused by pests inside your house. They offer professional pest controller services and all the tips you need on how to save yourself winding up with vermin problems in years to come.

ISIS landlords insurance provides cover for vermin and pest control for both rented domestic and commercial property.

Your next port of call is the local council, but it can be the case that the service only gets offered at certain times of the year. Vermin likes to come inside during the winter in places like under the stairs and the sink.

The downside of dealing with the council is there can often be a wait for the service. Its best to get in fast.

One of the more high profile pest control companies is Rentokil. But be careful because pretty much anyone can call themselves a pest controller. The service you can get varies greatly.

All in all, its often just doing the basics that keeps the mice and rats away. Keep your house clean, seal up holes and reduce the places that rats and mice want to nest and you wont have to worry about insurance cover at all.

But remember, if you got rats last winter, its probably the chance youll get them again. So dont put the job of preventing pests entering the house to the back of your mind. You need to get in there and take control of them before the pests start taking control of you.