Exterminators in the N.O. area - large rodents in the attic (3-month update: Rats gone!) (3 Viewers)

[Doug B]

Have you gone in the attic to actually see what it could possibly be?

No. It's a space that's difficult for me to access.

Brutal honesty: I'm too heavy to use the ladder and walk around on rafters safely. There's also not enough headspace for me to stand even if there were a finished floor up there.

I can get up the attic ladder a few steps. Enough to get my head, shoulders, and chest into the attic. I can shine a flashlight around and try to see something.

Brutal honesty: I really didn't want to have to fight off a scared, grown possum or something. While on a ladder that can't really support my weight, with bad balance and all. Years ago, sure.

 

[whodatbe]

Understood. Just remember once you get what ever is out of the attic, you then need to seal or fix up the access points they have created. If it's rodents you can plug in some steel wool and seal it with Great Stuff. Good luck Doug. I hope to hear some positive results.

 

[St. Widge]

If it was rats, the only solution would be to just burn the house down with them in it. With squirrels, you probably just have to hire a company that traps wildlife and then get someone to cover up the point of entry.

On a side note, you can buy animal traps on Amazon or at Home Depot, etc. Not sure it would be worth the cost over hiring a professional.

 

[0rion]

Look around the outside of your house at the soffits and see if you can find an entry point or better yet see one go in/out. After you find the entry point set some traps at those points. If you use a rat trap make sure to drill a hole in it, attach a rope, and tie it off somewhere. Don't want one dragging it into the house and dying. For a squirrel I'd use a small live trap with bait in it. Trail cams have also gotten really cheap and you can set one of those up to try and get a pic of what you're dealing with.

 

[superchuck500]

I don't think I'm smart enough to follow you here

But, no, I haven't seen them.

...

An update:

BugPro talked to me about this for a few minutes, asking for a lot of details. In the end, they said that if we're hearing activity during the day (and yes, much more active during daylight hours), they pretty positive it's specifically squirrels in our attic. Not rats or mice or raccoons, but squirrels.

So OK. BugPro refused the job because they don't do wildlife -- just rats and mice. Turns out most name exterminators are the same way. Have to find a company that specialized in wildlife removal. Called three - one was too busy, the second would call back to make an appointment, and the third is coming by in the morning.

Anyone have any idea of what this could cost? I'm 99% sure this is not going to be clearing a dozen squirrels out of the attic. If it's more than two, I'll be surprised. We don't hear them in multiple rooms at once. But then ... what the eff do I know?

You can get squirrel traps on Amazon for $25. Maybe grab a couple. But also you need to figure out how they're getting in and close it up.

 

[Merl]

If it is squirrels make sure you get the electrical wiring checked they will chew on it and any duct work for the HVAC system.

 

[Doug B]

Look around the outside of your house at the soffits and see if you can find an entry point or better yet see one go in/out.

Their entry point is easily seen from the outside of the house. Not our actual house, but you'll get the gist:

 

[efil4stnias]

Their entry point is easily seen from the outside of the house. Not our actual house, but you'll get the gist:

well you dont want to seal that- thats air flow.

maybe from the inside, install chicken wire fencing - but i think you said you cant get up there ( or your roof/ceiling space is limited ) so maybe temporary, install from outside?

 

[Madmarsha]

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Got three -- but they never go in the attic.

Get a cat elevator…

 

[whodatbe]

If it is squirrels make sure you get the electrical wiring checked they will chew on it and any duct work for the HVAC system.

Good point. Not trying to scare you but also rodents do chew electrical wires. Some on the wiring to them have a "nutty" smell and they will chew the wire. I know from dealing with an incident at work with rodents.

 

[Doug B]

In case this helps anyone ...

Three-month update:

Was initially quote over $4,000 by one exterminator company to come out and plug all kinds of holes in our home's exterior brickwork and under our roof shingles (near roof edges), and also to lay traps in our attic. Had to nope out on that price, though at least the walkthrough and estimate were free.

I called one of their competitors and took advantage of a similar "free walkthrough and estimate" offer. I told the second guy that came out what happened with the $4,000 company. Second guy showed me about five or six major holes where rats could get in and advised me to stuff them with steel wool. They also offered me a bare-bones service (about $430) where someone would come out every few days over two weeks or so to lay traps in our attic, then come back and replace the traps as they caught rats. The second company would also lay our and maintain bait traps on the property for $79/month until we say "when". The understanding was that I would be fully responsible for sealing up exterior holes -- without that, the cheaper rodent-management options would probably be ineffective.

This is already a long post, so I'll make it quick: Me and my father-in-law pulled out a tall ladder and spent a Saturday afternoon plugging up about a dozen rodent-entry locations with steel wool. The attic traps caught three rats over two weeks - then the traps were pulled. The bait traps are out in the yard and are being maintained ... but I'm told that rodents don't die in the bait traps -- they eat the bait and perish elsewhere.

Upshot: No signs of rodents in the attic. Quiet as a, um, mouse at all times, and has been since the attic traps were pulled. So, success, I guess. And not for $4,000!

Sadly, were I a little younger/lighter/spryer, I could have laid the attic traps myself. They weren't anything fancy -- just regular ol' Victor rat traps you can get at Home Depot. Ah well -- if we ever have to do this again, I'll bribe my son to climb up there.

 

[Doug B]

If it's rodents you can plug in some steel wool and seal it with Great Stuff.

This was

The best thing the two free-estimate exterminators did was show me the rodent entry points and how to identify them. Only the second guy that came out convinced me that I could plug them up myself (and some YouTube videos confirmed it to my satisfaction).

 

[Doug B]

Squirrels and rats could fit in through the gable vent (slats too far apart, though no damage or missing piece visible).

One happy find, once we got up on a ladder, was that the gable vent actually was blocked off with a grate. Just that we couldn't see the grate from the ground. So the spot I assumed was the entry point was actually already sealed off.

 

[whodatbe]

This was

The best thing the two free-estimate exterminators did was show me the rodent entry points and how to identify them. Only the second guy that came out convinced me that I could plug them up myself (and some YouTube videos confirmed it to my satisfaction).

Great to hear!