Roof Rat & Mouse Control in Marietta, GA
Scratching in the ceiling after the house goes quiet, or droppings in a kitchen drawer? Roof rats and mice get into Marietta homes of every age. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
Rodents in your Marietta home
Rodents are the one problem that doesn't care how old your Marietta house is. Roof rats are excellent climbers. They'll use a tree limb if there is one, but they'll just as easily go straight up brick or siding, so a house with no trees near it can still have rats in the attic. On the ranches they head for the gable vents; on older homes they find the gaps in old trim; on newer homes they use the construction gaps where roof sections meet. House mice work from the bottom — foundation vents, pipe openings and gaps under doors.
Both breed through our mild winters, so the problem grows fast. They contaminate food, leave droppings and urine through insulation, and chew wiring. Bait alone can't solve it, because it does nothing about the openings the next ones walk through. The real fix is finding how they get in, sealing it, and trapping out the ones already inside.
Rat, squirrel or mouse? Listen to the clock
The easiest way to tell is when you hear it. Rats are active at night, after the house goes quiet. Squirrels are busy early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Mice are quieter and leave their mark in droppings — in drawers, under the sink, along baseboards. Droppings are the other big clue: a pro can tell rat from mouse from squirrel by size and shape. Getting it right matters, because each animal uses different openings.
Why cutting trees alone won't stop roof rats
It's common advice to trim limbs away from the roof, and it's worth doing. But roof rats climb siding and brick without any help, and they run along power and cable lines. So a Marietta homeowner who cuts back every tree and still has scratching in the ceiling isn't doing anything wrong — the rats just went up the wall. The openings themselves have to be closed.
Health risks from rats and mice
Rats and mice spoil far more food than they eat and spread droppings and urine through insulation, cabinets and wall spaces. They're associated with salmonella and other illnesses, and roof rats in the Southeast are linked to murine (flea-borne) typhus. That's why a proper job includes cleaning up contaminated areas, not just catching the animals.
Why bait alone fails
Bait might kill some of the rats you have, but every opening is still there for the next ones, and Georgia's short winters mean there's always a next one. Worse, a poisoned rat usually goes back into the wall or attic to die, and now you have a smell you can't reach. Sealing and trapping avoids both problems: nothing new gets in, and what's inside comes out in a trap you can check.
How a pro seals and clears the house
The pro inspects the whole house — the roofline for rats, the foundation for mice — and seals every opening with metal: steel mesh, hardware cloth and flashing, since rodents chew through foam and wood. Traps are set inside to catch the ones already there, and the pro comes back to check them until activity stops. How long that takes depends on how many there are; a good technician will give you an estimate up front.
Mice and the low openings
Mice can squeeze through gaps you'd barely notice — around pipes under sinks, where cable and gas lines come through the wall, under garage doors and through foundation vents on a crawlspace house. On a Marietta ranch, the crawlspace is often where mice start. The approach is the same as for rats — seal, then trap — but the work is down low and detailed.
Common rodent questions in Marietta
I hear scratching in my walls at night in Marietta — is it rats?+
What's the difference between roof rats and squirrels?+
Will poison or bait get rid of my rats?+
How do roof rats get into the attic?+
Are rats and mice a health risk?+
How much does rodent control cost in Marietta?+
Other Marietta problems that come with rodents
Our wildlife crew handles these closely related problems — the ones that most often turn up with a rodent issue.
Got more than rodents in Marietta?
An opening a rat can use is an opening other animals can find — rodents are seldom the only visitors to a Marietta attic. See everything we handle locally on the Marietta wildlife removal hub, or jump to Georgia wildlife removal.
Want the background before you call? Read our statewide guide: Roof rats in Georgia: why bait alone never ends it.
One call to your Marietta rodent crew
Rats and mice keep breeding through Georgia's mild winters, so a few turns into a lot without much warning. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
- Local to Cobb County. Georgia DNR-compliant handling — call to ask about licensing and insurance.
- Seal first, then trap. Closing every way in with metal and trapping out what's already inside — not a bucket of bait.
- Done right. Removal, exclusion and cleanup.