Rat Exterminator Hasbrouck Heights NJ — Rats & Mice Gone for Good

Why rats and mice find homes on the Heights

Hasbrouck Heights sits up on a ridge in southern Bergen County, with Route 17 along one side, Teterboro Airport just to the east, and the Boulevard running through the middle as the main street. Most of the borough is single-family houses on fairly tight lots — capes, colonials and older frame homes, many with a detached garage at the back of the driveway — plus some two-families and apartment buildings.

Rodents follow that layout. Detached garages full of stored seed, pet food and clutter make easy rat shelters. Close-set backyards with sheds and garbage cans let a colony feed across several properties. Restaurants and shops along the Boulevard have dumpsters out back. And when the weather turns cold, mice push into the older houses through gaps at the sill, around pipes and under garage doors.

The busy roads and open land around Route 17 and the airport also give rats room to move. That's why we never treat just the room where you saw one — we check the whole lot.

Rat burrows, sewer rats and drain smoke testing

Burrows. Norway rats dig under garage slabs, sheds, stoops and concrete walks. A burrow has a main hole and one or two escape holes. Filling it while rats are inside just makes them dig a new one, so we trap first, then collapse and fill the burrows. Under decks, porches and sheds we can install buried mesh so they can't tunnel back. See rat burrows around the house.

Sewer rats. Rats also live in sewer and storm lines. If they keep appearing in a basement that's sealed outside, a cracked or disconnected drain pipe under the floor is a likely cause. We do rodent smoke testing — harmless smoke goes into the drain line and we see where it comes out. A licensed plumber makes the pipe repair; we deal with the rats and the other entry points.