When Roger and Ann finally finished their dream renovation, the nightmare that no one talks about but more and more people are suffering from came along: the rat invasion. In just 24 hours, the house went from idyll to chaos - with broken cables, nocturnal scratching noises and rat trails that snaked around the entire property. But what was not stopped by traps, sanitisation or professional help eventually gave way to a Swedish invention that is now spreading rapidly among homeowners.
When Roger and Ann Bryggman sat down on the sofa that September evening, they thought they had finally reached their goal. After months of renovation - with a new roof, new walls, new floors and a brand new kitchen - this autumn would be their first chance to really enjoy what had long been their dream home.
Instead, they got the worst shock since they moved in. A day after the roofers packed up their tools, they heard the first sound that changed everything. It started as a faint rustle. Then came several bangs. Something quickly ran across the beams in the attic. And it continued. Night after night.
- It was like a nightmare. You think you're finally going to relax, and then you clearly hear something big moving above you. The weekend the roof was finished, it all started," says Roger.
What was supposed to be their most peaceful time in a long time turned instead into an autumn filled with stress, panic and a feeling of losing control over their own home.
"We've lived here since 2018 - never had a single rat"
Roger and Ann had lived in the house since 2018 and for six years had considered the area safe and well-kept. But in 2024, things changed drastically. The municipality started to let large green areas grow back to favour insects and biodiversity. At the same time, a large landfill is located within a few kilometres - something that suddenly became noticeable.
- Everyone in the neighbourhood started saying the same thing. That the rats had become more numerous than ever. "We'd never seen a rat before, but suddenly there were tracks everywhere," says Ann.
When the first snow fell, the reality became even clearer. In the morning, they saw clear rat tracks along the walls of the house, around the garage, by the woodpiles and even up to the patio.
- That's when we realised how many there must be. The tracks criss-crossed the whole farm, like little motorways. It was unpleasant," says Ann.
The turning point came by chance
One weekday evening, Roger was scrolling through his mobile phone when he saw a news item that caught his eye. It was about a Swedish-developed rat repeller that had been used in several environments - from homes to farms - and tested in collaboration with researchers.
- It wasn't an advert, but a regular news clip. I think that's what made me actually listen. It sounded like there was serious technology behind it," says Roger.
He read more, compared other methods and felt he had nothing to lose. After all, the other stuff hadn't worked. The next day, he installed Repello, as the device was called. And it worked faster than they had dared hope.
"In just days, the tracks disappeared"
The first few nights after installation were unusually quiet. After a week, they noticed that the snow around the house no longer showed any traces. The wind was silent. And the cables remained intact.
- It was almost hard to believe it was true. After months of chaos, there was just... silence," says Roger. Ann nods. "We haven't had a single rat track since then. Not a sound. And the neighbours still see traces in their houses, but not us.
