Many people agree that all animals, even those deemed as pests, deserve to be unharmed and left alone. While that may be true, some pests like rats and mice may not be wanted in personal homes, garages, and belongings – for good reason.

Of course, there are exceptions as people do keep rodents as pets. However, most rodents that intrude on homeowners’ property are looking for a place to nest, feed and reproduce. Your home is not the ideal place for rats and mice to go about their life.Given how expensive it is to own a residence in the US, it only makes sense for you to enter “rodent control near me” when you spot a rodent on your premises. You’ve invested too much into your home to allow unwanted pests to cause costly damage to your home and general discomfort to the people that live within it.

What Is Rodent Control?

Rodents like the Norway rat and house mouse can breed exceptionally quickly and must have their population controlled. The practice of rodent control involves managing and reducing the number of rodents surrounding living space.

Once inside your home, rodents pose health hazards and disease risks and cause issues after nesting in your walls or finding food in your pantry. Moreover, mice and rats chew to deal with their never-ending teeth growth, a nasty habit that puts your wiring at risk, potentially causing house fires. 

Rodent control includes exclusion and removal. Related tactics can involve sealing your house, trapping rodents outside, and placing traps or bait stations around your home’s exterior.

Rodent Control Near Me

Do you need rodent control services for your home? If so, the expert, highly-trained professionals at Pest Pros can solve your mice or rat issue if you live in the following communities:

• Greater Seattle Area
• Greater Portland Area

Types of Rodents

The rodents you’ll typically tangle with in Seattle and Portland are house mice, Norway rats, and roof rats. 

What allows these pests to wreak havoc in your home?

Rats can squeeze through a half-inch-wide space to get to where they need to go, while mice can jump a whole foot to reach above-ground areas like shelves. 

Rodents feed up to 20 times per day, eating any food you leave them, leaving unpleasant musty odors along the way, and giving birth to 6-12 pups every eight weeks.

Types Of Rats

Typically, Norway and roof rats are the two types of rats you’ll see in Seattle and Portland.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the characteristics of these two types of rats:

Norway Rats

• Also known as brown rats.
• Norway rats average 16 inches in length (including their tail). This is on the larger end for rodents.
• These rats have average-sized ears relative to their bodies.
• Their coarse hair is grey or brown.

Roof Rats:

• Also known as black rats.
• Roof rats are about the same length as Norway rats but are more petite and slender overall.
• Their coarse hair is usually dark brown or black.
• Roof rats like to explore trees, rooftops, and the upper levels of buildings.
• They have a tail similar to Norway rats. Both types of rats have tails longer than their head and body combined.

Click here to learn more about the rats native to your community.

Types Of Mice

The types of mice residents of Portland and Seattle will run into are deer mice and house mice.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the characteristics of these two types of mice:

Deer Mice

• They are around 4 inches in length.
• Deer mice’s ears are prominent–much larger than other types of mice.
• Their fur is darker on top of their ears and bodies.
• Deer mice’s underbellies are often colored white.

House Mice

• A house mouse is 3 inches long without including its long, thin tail.
• Typically, their fur is light-brown all over.
• A house mouse has a pointy head and medium-sized ears.

Learn more about the mice native to your community here.  

The Difference Between Rodent Exclusion & Removal

We don’t want rodents chewing on wires and spreading disease in our homes, so we offer robust service options to keep them under control.

Pest Pros uses –multiple tactics, depending on the circumstances, to decrease the damage to your home while maintaining environmental friendliness. 

Rodent exclusion entails using appropriate materials to seal up gaps that have allowed rodents to enter the home in the first place. Along with those efforts, we’ll also provide recommendations for eliminating or reducing the conditions that attract rodents to your home  to help prevent future infestations.

Rodent removal is the more heavy-handed approach meant to solve your immediate rodent problem. We use tactics–such as baiting and trapping–to eliminate or reduce the number of rodents currently on your property.

Rodent Exclusion

Below are the steps involved in rodent inclusion.

• Step 1: Eliminate possible entry points

  • The exterior of your home must be carefully examined (including your basements and attics) for potential entry points.
  • Other areas that require inspection are where utility pipes enter the home and around doors and windows.
  • Note that a mouse can slip through a hole with the diameter of a dime. A rat can wriggle through a hole with a diameter of a quarter.

• Step 2:  Eliminate food and water sources

  • Place food stored in your cupboard into sturdy plastic containers with lids that fit tight. 
  • Don’t leave food out on your countertops.
  • Ensure cupboards are kept dry and cleaned frequently.

• Step 3: Reduce nesting areas

  • You can’t eliminate all potential nesting areas since rodents nest inside your walls. You can still reduce potential nesting areas.
  • Ensure your storage items are held in durable plastic containers with tight lids.
  • Get rid of clutter throughout your home.

We provide Rodent Exclusion services at Pest Pros because it is the most long-term effective solution. The best way to control rodents is by preventing them from entering your home in the first place.

Rodent Removal

When a rodent infestation is too widespread for exclusion methods to work alone, we might need to use rodent removal tactics. This approach entails trapping rodents outside and surrounding your home’s exterior with traps and bait stations.

At Pest Pros, when needed, we may use rodent trapping devices inside the home without adding toxic material to reduce the risks for non-target animals like your pets.

At the exterior, we may need to install rodent bait stations to suppress large outdoor foraging populations that trapping alone cannot keep pace with.

Rodent removal techniques are only part of the solution. 

Why Hire A Professional Pest Control Company?

We’re not against DIY measures in their entirety. We endorse them to a degree. Allow us to elaborate.

You can do plenty on your own, like keeping a clean, hygienic home, to prevent rodent infestations. However, there’s only so much you can do without the help of professionals. 

Professional pest control experts like Pest Pros understand the seemingly harmless discrepancies that lead to rodent problems that even the most vigilant homeowners miss. Scheduling routine check-ups can be beneficial even if you don’t see any rats or mice in your home. Doing so can help catch minor weaknesses before they turn into full-on infestations. 

Contact Pest Pros Serving Washington and Oregon

The team at Pest Pros has over 50 years of combined experience in providing pest control and extermination services.

While our staff has the requirements such as being insured, bonded, and educated, they also know they’re in the people business. Through our team’s friendly and honest approach, our technicians form a trusting relationship with customers; a pivotal component of successful, long-lasting pest control. 

Technicians and customers are active participants in keeping homes pest free. As much as our team can help quell the initial problem, homeowners must alter their environments to prevent further issues. Together, through communication and transparency, we can keep your home pest-free.

If you’re dealing with a pest issue or want to ensure your home isn’t at risk in the future, contact Pest Pros at (866) 686-3118. Or, fill out a form to receive a free estimate today.