The place to begin when something is off.
Callers describe a sound, a smell or a mess, and most cannot tell whether a mouse, a rat or something else is responsible. That is perfectly normal. The walk-through answers the question before you buy traps, sealing or cleanup that might not fit.
A technician works through the evidence in order: where the signs are heaviest, where they end and what ties them together. At an ordinary house the route and the entry point often come into focus within the first hour.
Where the technician looks.
The visit covers the inside and the outside. Indoors that means the attic, the crawl space, the garage and the spaces beneath and behind the kitchen. Outdoors it means the roofline, the foundation, the vents, the base of any deck and the yard features that feed or hide animals.
| Area. | What gets checked. | Why it matters. |
|---|---|---|
| Attic. | Pellets, nests, chewed insulation, vent screens. | Shows the species and the age of the problem. |
| Crawl space. | Access door, screens, pipe entries, moisture. | A common quiet way in on damp ground. |
| Garage. | Door seal, wall base, stored boxes. | A dry, rarely disturbed hideout. |
| Exterior. | Roof edge, vents, siding seams, burrows. | The openings animals really use. |
| Yard. | Wood piles, feeders, compost, plantings. | Food and cover that bring them back. |
How the species gets named.
The size and shape of pellets, the height of rub marks and the style of gnawing together point to a species. Sound and timing add more. Scratching overhead at dusk and in a wall at dawn suggest different animals.
If the evidence points to a squirrel, a bird or something that is not a rodent, we tell you. That answer spares you the cost of a plan that was never going to help.
What the estimate contains.
After the walk-through you receive a plan in everyday language, with removal, sealing, cleanup and repair on separate lines. You approve what you want, and nothing starts until you agree. A step that is already done drops off the list.
- Removal: which traps or stations, where they sit and how often they are checked.
- Sealing: each opening, the material and the reason.
- Cleanup: which spaces need it and how it will be done safely.
- Repair: chewed items listed and priced as their own step.
Share your street and what you saw, and we will line up the soonest visit that fits.
Dial (888) 686-4821Preparing for the visit.
Clear a lane to the attic hatch, the crawl space door and the garage wall, and shut pets in another room. Leave droppings where they are. Write down when the activity began, because a rough start date tells the technician how settled the animals are.
From here most people move to trapping and removal and then exclusion work. To learn how one animal differs from another, read the mouse and rat pages.
While you wait: what helps and what hurts
Give the list a single read before touching anything. It costs a minute and protects your lungs.
- A broom, a vacuum and a leaf blower are all the wrong tools for droppings and nests.
- Before cleanup, open the space and leave for about half an hour.
- Cover your hands with gloves and wash up well afterward, because the germs cannot be seen.
- Dampen stains and droppings with disinfectant, give it roughly five minutes and take it up with towels.
- Tie off the bag and keep bare skin well clear of any dead animal.
- How risky an exposure was is a doctor's call. Go if fever, aches or labored breathing develop.
Public guidelines behind this advice
Go to the originals for the fine print. They are written for the public and tied to no company.
- CDC page on hantavirus prevention: Reducing exposure in houses, sheds and vehicles through practical steps from the CDC's hantavirus page.
- CDC page on rodent cleanup: Bagging, disinfecting and ventilating: the sequence behind the cleanup steps in this guide.