Getting rid of rodents for good takes two jobs: removing the mice or rats already inside and closing the gaps they used to get in. Traps handle the first job, but if the openings around pipes and under the garage door stay open, new rodents move in to replace the ones you caught. Lasting rodent control also means removing the food and nesting spots that made your home appealing in the first place. Most homes need two to three weeks of steady trapping and one careful round of sealing before the activity stops.
The first scratching sound in the ceiling usually shows up on a chilly October night. Mice and rats spend the warm months in fields and woodpiles, and once overnight temperatures drop, they look for a warm place with food nearby. Your house checks both boxes.
Rodents need far less room than you’d think. A house mouse can squeeze through a gap about a quarter inch wide, roughly the width of a pencil. A rat needs only about half an inch, close to the width of an AA battery. Those openings are easy to miss around a dryer vent or a gas line, and a rodent will find one long before you do.
The type of rodent you’re up against changes depending on where you live:
- Roof rats around Phoenix, climbing citrus trees and palms to reach attics
- House mice in every area we serve, from Michigan basements to Long Island garages
- Deer mice nesting in sheds and cabins near open land in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada
- Norway rats (the larger, heavier rat that burrows) along the base of homes in older Boston and Long Island neighborhoods
If you’re not sure which one left those droppings, our breakdown of the differences between mice and rats can help you sort it out.
How to Tell You Have a Rodent Problem
Most people find the evidence long before they see the animal, and droppings are the first thing they spot. Mouse droppings are about the size of a grain of rice with pointed ends, while rat droppings are bigger, closer to a raisin. You’ll find them along walls, in the back of cabinets, and under the sink, since rodents prefer to travel with one side against a wall.
Other signs need a closer look. Mice and rats follow the same paths night after night, and the oil from their fur leaves dark smudges along baseboards and around holes. Chewed corners on cereal boxes or shredded paper towels tucked behind the stove point to a nest nearby.
Our guide to the top signs of a rodent problem covers what to look for, and you can see what fresh and old rodent droppings look like.
Step One of Rodent Control: Removal
Trapping works best when you set more traps than you think you need. A single trap by the fridge might catch one mouse and leave the rest of the family untouched. House mice usually stay within a short distance of their nest, so traps placed every few feet along a busy wall do far more than one trap in the middle of the floor.
A few habits make snap traps (the classic spring-loaded kind) work better:
- Set them flat against the wall, with the trigger end facing the baseboard
- Use a pea-sized dab of peanut butter instead of cheese
- Leave the traps unset for a night or two so rodents get used to them
- Check them every morning and wear gloves when you empty them
Some popular options don’t hold up as well. Plug-in sound devices and peppermint oil may bother a rodent for a while, but neither one closes a gap or removes a nest. Electronic traps come with their own problems, which we cover in our list of reasons to avoid an electronic mouse trap.
Poison bait inside the living space can backfire too. A rodent that eats it can crawl into a wall void (the hollow space inside a wall) before it dies, and the smell can linger for weeks. It also puts a product within reach of curious kids and pets, so it’s a job better left to a trained technician.
Step Two: Seal the Way In
Most people skip this step, and it’s why rodents come back every fall. Pest control specialists call it exclusion. In plain terms, it means finding every opening a rodent can use and closing it with something they can’t chew through.
Expanding foam by itself won’t hold. Rodents can chew through it quickly. Pack the gap with steel wool or copper mesh first, then seal over it with caulk. For larger openings like the vents near the base of your house, a stiff metal screen called hardware cloth holds up well.
Start your search with these spots:
- Gaps where water pipes, gas lines, and cable wires enter the house
- The bottom corners of the garage door, where the rubber door seal wears out
- Dryer vents and attic vents that have no screen
- Along the roofline, where the siding meets the underside of the roof overhang
You can see how we handle this on our rodent exclusion page. In the Phoenix area, trim tree branches back at least a few feet from the roof, since roof rats use them like a bridge.
Make Your Home Less Inviting
Mice don’t need much. A bag of birdseed in the garage or a dog bowl left full overnight can feed a small family of them for weeks. Move dry goods, pet food, and seed into hard plastic or glass containers with tight lids.
Stacks of cardboard boxes in a basement give mice soft material to shred and plenty of places to hide. Switch to sealed plastic bins. Outside, stack firewood off the ground and away from the house, and keep trash cans tightly closed with latched lids.
Cleaning Up After Rodents Are Gone
Resist the urge to sweep or vacuum droppings. That can stir dust into the air, and in parts of the West, deer mice can carry hantavirus, a rare but serious illness spread through their droppings and urine.
Put on rubber gloves, open a window, and wet the droppings and nesting material with a household disinfectant or a mix of one part bleach to ten parts water. Let it soak for about five minutes, then wipe everything up with paper towels and throw them out in a sealed bag.
When to Call for Professional Rodent Control
If you’re still catching mice after three weeks, or you hear scratching inside the walls at night, the rodents are coming in somewhere you haven’t found yet. Rats in the attic are another sign you need help, since they can chew wiring and tear up insulation. Michigan homeowners can also check our Michigan rodent control and prevention guide for tips on handling long, cold winters.
We started in 2015 as two brothers with a purpose to give back, and we still treat every home like it’s our own. Our rodent control service starts with a full inspection of your home’s exterior. From there, our technicians seal any openings they find, set traps where activity is highest, and return to confirm the problem is gone.
We use EPA-registered and botanically derived products where they fit the job. Our pest-free guarantee™ backs our year-round service with unlimited return visits between scheduled treatments if mice, rats, or other covered pests come back.
Rodents get serious about moving indoors as nights turn cold, so the sooner you close those gaps, the fewer you’ll see this winter. Call us at (888) 291-5333 or reach out through our contact page, and we’ll find out where they’re getting in.
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