When we think of 18th-century London, images of cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriages, and smoky taverns come to mind. But behind that historic charm was a city struggling with a very real problem: pests.
In the 1700s, London was one of the largest cities in the world, booming with trade, population growth, and constant construction. Along with its growth came rats, mice, insects, and other wildlife drawn to the waste, clutter, and human activity of an expanding metropolis.
Without modern pest control chemicals or professional exterminator companies, Londoners in the 1700s used creative, sometimes grisly, and often labor-intensive methods to manage the creatures that shared their living spaces.
Rats and Mice: The Constant Enemy
Rodents were a pervasive problem in 18th-century London. Grain stores, food markets, and densely packed housing offered plentiful shelter and food. Rats and mice didn’t just eat food supplies—they spread disease, most notoriously the plague.
While the worst of the Black Death had passed, plague outbreaks still haunted Londoners’ memories. Even in the 1700s, people feared rats as disease carriers, especially after the Great Plague of 1665.
To combat them, Londoners relied heavily on traps and poisons. Traps were often handmade and crude by modern standards—simple mechanical devices with spring mechanisms or weighted doors.
Poisons were commonly used, though they were hazardous and often imprecise. Ingredients like arsenic and strychnine were mixed into baits, posing risks to pets and humans alike.
Cats played a crucial role in pest control, especially in poorer neighborhoods. A good mouser was a valuable asset, often welcomed into homes, taverns, and warehouses.
Professional Rat-Catchers
Rat-catching was an actual profession in 18th-century London. These specialists traveled the city with cages, terriers, and tools designed to catch or kill rats.
They often used trained dogs, especially terriers, bred and taught to chase and kill rats in cramped spaces. Some even staged public rat-baiting shows in taverns—grisly entertainments where dogs would kill rats for a paying audience.
Rat-catchers also became early pest-control entrepreneurs, selling live rats to these venues or to people wanting to train their own ratting dogs.
Insects in the Home: A Battle with Limited Tools
Insects were a constant nuisance in London’s crowded, unsanitary homes. Bed bugs, fleas, and lice were especially problematic.
Bed bugs had already earned a reputation as tenacious pests by the 1700s. People fought infestations by taking apart beds and pouring boiling water over joints and crevices. Kerosene and turpentine were used as crude insecticides, applied with rags or brushes.
Fleas and lice were pervasive in all but the wealthiest households. Combs designed to remove lice were common, and boiling clothing or bedding was one of the few effective treatments. Wealthier Londoners sometimes sent their linens out for professional laundering, which included thorough boiling.
Flies and Other Pests: Open Sewers and Poor Sanitation
Flies were drawn to the open sewers, rotting food, and waste that characterized much of 18th-century London. Garbage was often tossed into the street, and human waste might be dumped into cesspits or open drains.
Efforts at control were limited. People used mesh netting or gauze curtains over food and beds, though these were costly and more common among the upper classes.
Herbs and strong-smelling plants were also used in an attempt to repel flies and other insects. Lavender, rosemary, and tansy were popular choices, hung in bundles or scattered around rooms.
Wildlife and Vermin Control in Markets and Taverns
Markets, butcher shops, and taverns were hotspots for pest activity. Without refrigeration, meat and produce spoiled quickly, attracting flies, rats, and stray animals.
Market authorities sometimes employed official rat-catchers or street cleaners, but enforcement was inconsistent. Taverns often kept cats on hand to control rodents, while food vendors used covers and cloths to deter flies.
Public Health and Early Regulations
Though understanding of disease transmission was limited—germ theory wouldn’t arrive until the 19th century—people in the 1700s recognized that filth attracted pests and that pests spread disease.
City authorities occasionally tried to regulate waste disposal. Street cleaning was sporadically mandated, and laws prohibited dumping certain waste in public thoroughfares. But enforcement was patchy, and sanitation varied greatly between neighborhoods.
These rudimentary public health measures were the seeds of more organized pest control and sanitation reforms that would arrive in the Victorian era.
Final Thoughts
Pest control in 1700s London was a constant struggle. Without modern insecticides, rodenticides, or professional pest management companies, people relied on homemade traps, poisons, trained animals, boiling water, and manual cleaning to keep infestations at bay.
The dense, unsanitary, and bustling environment of the city made it a paradise for pests. Yet even with limited tools, Londoners developed practical, if sometimes brutal, ways to manage them.
Their efforts remind us of how essential sanitation, vigilance, and technology are in modern pest control—and how far we’ve come in making our homes healthier, safer, and more comfortable.
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