How Rodent Control Works in Grand Rapids

The five stages

Every house is a little different, but nearly every job we do follows this sequence.

1. 01

   You call and tell us what is going on

   We ask about the signs you have seen, where in the house they are, how long it has been happening and whether anything has been tried already. That conversation tells us whether it sounds like mice, rats or something else, and helps us plan the visit.

2. 02

   We inspect the whole house

   Not just the room with the droppings. We start outside at the foundation, the garage and the roofline, then work through the basement, the living space and the attic if it is reachable. We are looking for droppings, grease marks, gnawed wood, nesting material and, most of all, the openings that connect them. You walk away with a plain-language list of every opening, every sign of activity, and the plan we would follow.

3. 03

   We trap and remove the animals inside

   Snap traps and enclosed traps go along the routes the rodents are actually using, which are usually wall edges, behind appliances and along basement sills. We come back on a set schedule to check them, remove what we catch, and adjust placement based on what the activity tells us.

4. 04

   We seal the way in

   Once the catches drop off, we close the entry points with materials rodents cannot chew through: galvanized mesh, sheet metal, copper mesh packed into small gaps, mortar for stone and block, and proper sweeps on garage and exterior doors. This is the stage that stops next year's problem.

5. 05

   We clean up and follow up

   Droppings, urine-soaked insulation and old nests are removed with care, and the area is sanitized. Then we come back to check that the seals are holding and nothing new has turned up.

Things you can do before we get there

You do not need to clean the house for us. In fact, please leave the droppings where they are, because their spread and freshness help us read the situation. There are a few useful things you can do in the meantime, though.

• Move pet food, birdseed and grass seed into hard plastic or metal bins with tight lids.
• Keep the garage door fully closed, especially at night.
• Pull stored boxes a few inches away from basement walls so the edges are visible.
• Clear a path to the attic hatch, the crawlspace door and the electrical panel.
• Note where and when you hear noises. Time of night and which wall are both useful clues.

Things we will not do

We do not spread loose poison around your kitchen, bedrooms or living areas. Rodents that eat bait wander off to die, often inside a wall or under a floor, and the smell that follows can last for weeks. Loose bait is also a hazard to dogs, cats and curious toddlers. When bait is the right tool, it goes into locked stations in controlled spots, and we discuss it with you before it is placed.

We also will not seal up a house while rodents are still living inside it. Closing every hole at once sounds efficient, but it traps animals in your walls, where they either die or chew a new way out, sometimes into a room. Trapping comes first for that reason.

And we will not oversell. If what you have is a single mouse that followed a grocery bag in, we will tell you that.

Working through a Michigan winter

Most of our work happens between October and March, so cold weather is just part of the job. Inside work like trapping, inspection and attic cleanup is not affected at all.

Outdoor sealing is a bit different. Mortar does not cure properly in a hard frost, and frozen ground makes it hard to trench mesh along a foundation. In deep winter we may use temporary sealing with metal and mesh on the outside, then come back in spring for permanent masonry work. Snow piled against the house can hide gaps, so we sometimes do a second look after the thaw. When that happens, we explain it up front so you know why a follow-up visit is on the calendar. Questions about any of this can go to Grand Rapids Rodent Control by phone or through the contact form.