Rodent Removal and Control Services in Central Florida

Need rodent removal near you in Central Florida?

Call Dr. Critter at 800-932-7287 for a free phone estimate. We take roof rats, mice and squirrels out of attics, soffits, wall voids and garages, seal the openings they used, and put a lifetime warranty on every sealed opening. Same-day visits are available in Orlando, Tampa, Kissimmee, Sanford, Daytona Beach and most of the rest of our area, and the phones are answered from 7 AM to 11 PM, seven days a week. Not sure we reach you? Check the towns and counties we serve.

Call 800-932-7287 for a free phone estimate

What our rodent removal service includes

1. A free phone estimate. Tell us what you are hearing or finding, and where.
2. A free on-site inspection. A technician checks the roofline, vents, soffits and attic for every opening.
3. A written quote. That is the price of the job, and nothing gets added afterwards.
4. Removal and sealing. We trap and remove what is inside and seal the building. Waste cleanup is there if you want it, and a money-back guarantee stands behind the work.

Rodent control vs rodent removal: what we actually do

People usually arrive here after searching for rodent control services near me, rodent pest removal or a rodent exterminator, which are pest-control phrases attached to what is really a wildlife job. The difference matters. An exterminator sells poison and a recurring treatment schedule, and neither closes the gap a roof rat is using, so until that gap is closed the attic keeps refilling. We work the other way round: find every opening, trap and remove what is inside, then seal the building and correct the conditions that made it attractive. No bait stations, no rats dying inside a wall. Our post on what wildlife removal handles and what pest control handles in Florida draws that line in full.

What are the signs of a rodent infestation in your attic?

The most common signs of rodents in a Florida attic are scratching or scurrying noises overhead at night, small dark droppings along walls and in the insulation, gnaw marks on wood and wiring, and a musky ammonia smell from urine. Homeowners often notice a track worn through the insulation or shredded material where rats have built a nest.

Is it a roof rat, a Norway rat or a mouse?

Where you find it is the first clue. A roof rat is a sleek climber whose tail runs longer than its head and body, and it nests up high in attics and wall voids. A Norway rat is heavier and blunt-nosed and burrows at ground level. A house mouse weighs about half an ounce.

The University of California's IPM program gives two checks that work on a trapped rat. Pull the tail back over the body: a roof rat's reaches at least to the snout, a Norway rat's only to the middle of the skull. Fold an ear forward: a roof rat's covers the eye and a Norway rat's falls short. Where both species share a building, Norway rats keep to the ground floor and roof rats take the upper floors. UF/IFAS Extension in Sarasota County describes roof rats as skilled climbers found mostly in trees and the upper levels of homes, and Norway rats as strong swimmers found near water and the coast. A young rat can pass for a mouse, but its head and feet look too big for its body, and its gnaw marks run about 1/6 inch wide against a mouse's scratchy 1/12 inch.

Rats in a Central Florida attic are usually the climbers, roof rats, and our roof rat guide covers the noises, the breeding season and the damage in more detail.

Where do rats and mice get into a Florida house?

Mostly through openings up at the roofline, because roof rats climb. The usual ones are the gap where a soffit return meets the roof deck, chewed soffit and fascia, unscreened gable and attic vents, and the holes where AC lines, pipes and cables pass through a wall. Mice need only a gap a quarter inch tall.

The CDC's guide to sealing out rodents lists the same places, plus a few lower down that people forget:

• The roof, among the rafters, gables, eaves and soffits
• Attic and crawl space vents
• Windows and doors, especially ones without weather stripping. UC IPM says a rat can squeeze under a door with a 1/2 inch gap.
• Inside, under and behind kitchen cabinets and around the pipes under sinks and washing machines
• Tree limbs within 6 feet of the roof, which UC IPM says rats and squirrels use to reach the roof and the soffit vents

Sealing only works if the material holds up to teeth. UC IPM notes that rats chew through plastic, foam, wood and caulk, and it calls exclusion the most successful and longest-lasting way to control rats around a building. The CDC's advice is to pack small holes with steel wool and use caulk or spray foam just to hold it in place, and to close larger ones with hardware cloth, lath screen, metal sheeting or cement. Chicken wire doesn't count: UC IPM says rats pass straight through it. On our jobs that means hardware cloth over the vents and louvers, repaired soffit and fascia, and every opening on the building closed, not only the one the rats were using. Our animal and wildlife proofing page walks through what gets sealed on a typical roof.

How does Dr. Critter get rid of rats and rodents for good?

Trapping alone never solves a rodent problem, because new rats follow the same routes back in. Dr. Critter inspects the structure, seals every entry point down to a quarter inch with rodent-proof material, removes the active animals, and cleans the contaminated area. Sealing the building is what makes the result last, which is why our exclusion work carries a lifetime warranty.

What diseases can rats and mice carry?

The CDC lists leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, salmonellosis and hantavirus among the diseases rodents spread directly to people, through bites, handling, and contact with their droppings, urine or saliva. People can also get sick by breathing air or eating food contaminated with rodent waste. Fleas, ticks and mites on rodents carry others, including plague and flea-borne typhus.

That list comes from the CDC's page on controlling wild rodent infestations. Three of the diseases are worth knowing by name:

• Leptospirosis spreads through water or soil that holds urine from an infected animal, or food and drink contaminated by it. Rats and mice are among the carriers the CDC names.
• Rat-bite fever doesn't need a bite. The CDC says scratches, contact with a rodent's saliva or urine, and contaminated food or drink can all pass it on, and that untreated it can cause severe illness and may be fatal.
• Hantavirus comes from contact with rodent urine, droppings and saliva. The CDC names the deer mouse as the most common carrier of the U.S. form that attacks the lungs.

If you get sick after contact with rodents, the CDC's advice for rat-bite fever is to see a doctor right away and mention the contact.

Be careful how you clean up. Don't sweep or vacuum rodent urine, droppings or nesting material: the CDC says it can put virus-carrying droplets into the air. Its cleanup steps go like this:

1. Open the doors and windows and leave the room for 30 minutes before you start.
2. Put on rubber or plastic gloves.
3. Spray the droppings and urine until they are very wet, with a fresh mix of 1.5 cups of household bleach to a gallon of water or an EPA-registered disinfectant, and let it soak for 5 minutes.
4. Wipe it up with paper towels and throw them in a covered garbage can. Double-bag a dead rodent and knot each bag.
5. Wash your gloved hands with soap and water, take the gloves off, then wash your bare hands with soap and warm water.

That works for a few droppings under a sink. An attic where rats have nested in the insulation for months is a bigger job, and our critter waste cleaning service handles it once the entry points are sealed.

Sources: the disease list and the sealing and cleanup steps come from the CDC (rodent infestations, sealing, cleanup, leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, hantavirus). Identification and exclusion details come from University of California IPM's Pest Notes: Rats and house mouse guide, and the Florida habitat notes from UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County.

Choose your city for local rodent control

Dr. Critter provides rat extermination, mouse control, and squirrel removal throughout Central Florida. Pick your city below to see local response times and service details. When rodents or other wildlife are nesting overhead, we also get wildlife out of your attic and seal the entry points behind them.

• Rat Extermination in Orange County, FL
• Rat Extermination in Tampa, FL
• Rat Extermination in Sanford, FL
• Rat Extermination in Seminole County, FL
• Rat Extermination in Daytona Beach, FL
• Rat Extermination in Cocoa, FL
• Squirrel Control in Orange County, FL
• Squirrel Control in Kissimmee, FL

Curious about the animals behind the damage? Rats and squirrels are behind almost every call, and each has its own page: roof rats, and squirrel removal from Central Florida attics, including the nest check and the law on what happens after the catch.

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