When is it the right time to call a rodent exterminator & what will rodent control cost?

You are a homeowner or even a landlord dealing with a rodent problem. You’re likely wondering, “should I hire a professional rodent exterminator or should I tackle this myself to save money?”

Expert advice from effective exterminators.
Twin Home Experts leads the country in solving some of the most complicated rodent infestations entering structures. We are here to help you make the right decision about handling your rat problem. This blog will offer some insights about when you should hire a rodent control exterminator or when you can try and handle it yourself

There are 3 stages of rodent infestation that we categorize as:

1. Minor Infestation
2. Major Infestation
3. Extreme Infestation

 Let’s go over each one so you can identify what stage you’re in:

Minor rat infestation is when you see some outside activities of mice and rats. For example, rats running around the backyard. Maybe your cat has been bringing in a few dead mice. You spot some light droppings around the exterior of the home.

On the interior of the home, you may see a few dropping in the garage or internal rooms, especially in the kitchen area.

If you’ve lived in your home for more than 3 years, and you’re seeing these signs for the first time, then you have a minor infestation.

These are the actions you need to take immediately so it doesn’t grow into the major or extreme stage.

If you’re not at all a DIYer then you can call the Twin Home Experts at (818) 623 8739 or email us at [email protected].

Or if you are a DIYer then you need to do the following steps:

Make sure ALL possible entry points are sealed up. The rule of thumb is if anything is larger than a thumb size, then a rat or mouse can enter a structure.

You can set up bait boxes like this: 

In our professional opinion, we are not fans of plastic bait boxes and fancy attractant food. These are money makers for manufacturers and we have seen hundreds of cases showing that these do not work effectively.

If you are seeing light activity or signs in the garage, crawl spaces, or inside your home, you need to check these areas:

Garages are one of the most missed places for rodents to enter your home especially deer mice, here is a great example to look for:

Make sure you check all door seals around the perimeter of the home. You can do this at night with a flashlight. By beaming the flashing from the outside and then the inside you can see how much light is coming through. If you can see light either way, then you have a possible entry point. You can also look for grease markings to spot these entry points.

Once you have verified and sealed up any openings, you can set some traps to catch the ones that may still be inside your home.

Here are some helpful trapping tips:

For a minor infestation, you can budget anywhere from $450 to $2500.

This would include all light exclusion work and setting up traps with monitoring for up to 2 weeks.

If you are in this stage, you need to call a rodent exterminator immediately. But don’t just call ANY exterminator, or this could happen to you…….

9 MONTHS OF RATS because another company missed this…BEST WAY TO STOP RATS…

A major rodent infestation is when you can hear rodent activity inside your home. Maybe you can hear movement in your attic or hear scratching inside your walls at night.

This is major because if you don’t deal with this fast, then it will go into the next phase we call EXTREME!

When you start to hear activity in the attic, walls, or bathroom, this means they found a way to get into your home.

There are many different possibilities, but here are some great examples of how they get into your home:

For example, an air conditioning freon lines that go from your air conditioner condenser to the attic.

To make sure there are no openings take the right equipment. So beware that most rodent exterminators don’t have this equipment or the skill set to check this.

PRO TIP:
If you continue to hear rodent activity after sealing all openings, you may have sewer rats! You should NOT hear any activity after 2 weeks if you have done a good job closing up all possible entry points.

Major stage rodent extermination can cost between $1500 to $15,000. This includes inspecting strategic wall openings, sanitizing, rodent removal, and all repairs needed. This also includes a 100% money-back guarantee if we don’t solve your rodent problem.

THE BEST WAY TO GET RID OF RATS QUICKLY!! Airsoft…

This was extreme and very rare, and even caught us off guard. We didn’t know the extent of this infestation until we got there to help.

This homeowner had spent $40,000 with other rodent exterminators and control services. These companies ended up walking away because the infestation was out of control.

We share this extreme case study because it shows how rats can multiply at a fast pace if not dealt with early.

It’s very rare that you will get into the extreme rodent infestation stage but if so it can cost.

This can range from $10,000 to $50,000.