Roof Rat & Mouse Control in Commerce, GA

Rodents in your Commerce home

A mill-era house in Commerce gives rodents two ways in. Roof rats are slim, dark climbers that come in high, through gable vents, gaps at the fascia and the seams where a back room's roof meets the original. Mice and Norway rats come in low, through loose skirting and ground vents around a crawlspace raised on brick piers. It's common for an older Commerce home to have both kinds at once, one in the attic and one under the floor.

There's also no shortage of rodents nearby. The pastures, hayfields and chicken houses of rural Jackson County support large mouse and rat populations, and food around homes and the businesses near the I-85 exits keeps them fed in town. Because Georgia winters are mild, rodents don't slow down when it gets cold. Putting out bait doesn't fix that. Sealing the house does.

Rats and mice are night animals

The easiest way to tell rodents from squirrels is the time of day. Rats and mice are active at night, so you hear them after you've gone to bed: scurrying in the ceiling, scratching in a wall, gnawing. Squirrels are busy in the early morning and late afternoon. Droppings are the other big clue. Rat droppings are larger, about the size of a raisin, and mouse droppings are small like grains of rice. Grease marks along beams and pipes show where they travel. A pro uses these signs to work out which animal you have and where it's getting in.

Top and bottom on a raised house

On a house built up on piers, a pro has to check both ends. Up top, roof rats use gable vents, gaps at the eaves, the joint between an addition and the old roof, and openings where pipes or wires go through. Down low, mice and Norway rats use loose lattice or tin skirting, unscreened ground vents, and gaps around plumbing that runs up through the floor. A roof rat can squeeze through a hole about the size of a quarter. Sealing only the roof or only the crawlspace leaves the other door open.

Cutting trees alone won't stop them

Trimming branches away from the roof helps, and it's worth doing where big shade trees hang over a small house. But rats and mice can climb brick and siding on their own, and they also run along utility lines and fences. On a street where houses are close together, they can reach your roof from almost anywhere. Tree work cuts down on easy routes, but it doesn't replace sealing the openings.

Why bait doesn't solve it

Bait kills some of the rodents that eat it, but it does nothing to stop new ones from coming in through the same holes, and in farm country there are always new ones. Poisoned rats also tend to crawl back into a wall or under the floor to die, which gives you a smell that can last about two weeks. Our crew is clear on this: sealing is the part that matters. Pest control companies are set up for bugs; rats and mice in the house are a job for a wildlife company.

Health concerns

Rats and mice leave droppings and urine in insulation, cabinets and stored food, and they're linked to salmonella and other illnesses. In the Southeast, roof rats are also associated with murine typhus, which is spread by fleas. They chew wiring as well, which is a fire risk. That's why a finished job includes cleanup of the droppings and soiled material, not just removing the animals.

How the job is done

The pro inspects the roof, the walls and the crawlspace and marks every opening. Each one is closed with metal: steel mesh, hardware cloth and flashing that rodents can't chew through. Traps are set inside to catch the rodents that are already there and checked until no more are being caught. How long that takes depends on how many there are, and the technician should be able to give you an idea after the inspection. Then the droppings and damaged insulation are cleaned up.