Rodent Control in Englewood, NJ — Rat & Mouse Exterminator

Rodent control in Englewood: it depends on the house

Englewood packs a lot of different housing into one city, and rats and mice get in differently in each:

• Large older homes on the East Hill: big footprints, stone foundations, old chimneys, crawl spaces and wooded lots near the Palisades and Flat Rock Brook. Mice find dozens of small openings; squirrels and other wildlife sometimes share the attic, so we check what the noise really is.
• Two-families and older multi-family homes on the West Side: shared walls and basements let mice move between units, and rats burrow along foundations, fences and detached garages.
• Downtown apartments and mixed-use buildings: restaurants and shops on the ground floor, apartments above, shared trash areas behind. Rodents follow the food and the pipe chases.
• Newer townhouses and condos: tighter construction, but garage doors, dryer vents and utility lines still leave gaps.

Our plan for a one-family Cape is not the same as our plan for a 1920s house with a fieldstone basement, so the first step is always a real look at the building.

When rats and mice show up in Englewood

Wondering about the rain? Here's why rain brings out rats.

Rats coming from the drains? We smoke-test the lines

Some of the hardest rat problems we see are in older buildings where the rats aren't coming from outside at all. Norway rats live in sewers, and a cracked or broken drain or sewer line under the basement floor or behind a wall lets them walk right in. You can seal every gap on the outside of the house and still have rats.

Signs that rats may be using the plumbing:

• Rats or fresh droppings near floor drains, a basement toilet, laundry sinks or cleanouts
• Activity comes back again and again even after the outside is sealed
• A sewer smell in the basement or a wall cavity
• Rats inside an apartment above street level, with no clear way in

Rodent smoke testing pushes harmless, visible smoke into the drain lines. Where smoke comes out — through a crack in the slab, a gap behind a wall, or an old unused pipe — is where the line is broken and where the rats are getting in. We show you exactly where it is. The pipe itself is repaired by a licensed plumber; once it's fixed, we finish the job and confirm the rats are gone.

Mouse service with 90 days of coverage

Mouse problems rarely end with one visit, so our mouse service includes 90 days of coverage with unlimited free service calls during that time. If you hear them again or find new droppings, call and we come back — no extra charge in those 90 days.

What helps between visits:

• Don't move or touch traps and stations we've placed.
• Store pantry food, pet food and birdseed in sealed containers.
• Keep basement and garage storage off the floor and away from the walls.
• Clean droppings safely: spray them with disinfectant first, wear gloves, and never sweep or vacuum them dry.

More on cleanup: how to clean up mouse droppings.