Houston, Texas
Professional Wildlife services
Call or Text Michael
(713) 775-8799
Rat and Mouse Control in Houston, Texas
For rats and mice in a north Houston home, restaurant or small office, Cypress Critters & Pests handles the whole job. Michael Gerbino traces how the rodents are getting in, traps the ones already inside, and closes every gap a quarter inch or larger with metal so new ones cannot follow. He covers the FM 1960 area, Champions, Willowbrook and the Cypress Fairbanks side. Call Michael at 713-775-8799.
Why are roof rats such a problem on Houston’s north side?
The rodent Michael meets most often here is the roof rat, a slim climber that lives high and travels along fence rails, power lines and tree limbs. Older neighborhoods give it everything it needs: trees that reach over the roof, wooden fences that run lot to lot, and attics with gaps that have been opening up for a long time. The bayous add cover and water close by.
Small commercial buildings are just as busy. A row of shops under one roof, with dumpsters out back and air conditioning units on top, is an easy place for rats to live. They climb to the roof, slip in around the unit curbs or the conduit, and move through the ceiling space from one storefront to the next. Mice tend to come in lower, under worn door sweeps at the back.
| Where you are | What you notice | What it points to |
|---|---|---|
| House, over the ceiling at night | Fast running that starts and stops | Roof rats using the attic |
| House, garage or pantry | Small droppings, chewed bags | Mice coming in at ground level |
| Shop or restaurant, ceiling tiles | Stains, droppings on top of the grid | Rats entering from the roof |
| Back of a building, by the dumpsters | Burrows, dark rub marks along the wall | Rats living outside and probing for a gap |
How Michael handles it here
He walks the outside first, the roofline and fence lines on a house or the roof and back wall on a commercial building, and marks every opening and rub mark. Inside, he sets traps on the runways he found, out of reach of children, pets and customers. Then the sealing starts: hardware cloth, galvanized mesh and metal flashing over each gap, including the rooftop penetrations most people never see. The traps are checked until the activity stops.
Poison bait by itself does not close a single hole, and a rat that eats it may die inside a wall. Sealing the building is what ends the problem, and it is the core of animal exclusion and live trapping. How to tell rats from mice and why foam fails are covered on the main rat and mouse control page, and business accounts are described under commercial wildlife and pest control.
Hearing them tonight? Michael is at 713-775-8799.
What goes into the quote?
A single house with two gaps by the gutter is a short job. A building with several storefronts, three rooftop units and a back wall full of pipe and wire openings takes longer. Michael quotes after he has seen how many openings there are, how hard they are to reach, and how much clean-up the rats left behind.
Nearby
For the same service just outside the city, see rat and mouse control in Cypress and rat and mouse control in Klein. Rats in the attic sometimes draw snakes in Houston, and daytime running overhead is more often a Houston squirrel. The Houston page covers the rest, and the contact page takes written requests. To get started, call 713-775-8799.
Questions people ask about rat and mouse control in Houston
Why do rats keep coming back to my Houston restaurant?
Usually because the way in is still open. Rats that live around the dumpsters and along the back wall keep testing the building, and a gap around a rooftop unit or a worn door sweep lets them right back in. Trapping the ones inside helps for a while. Sealing the roof penetrations and the back doors with metal is what stops the return trips.
Are roof rats or mice more common in north Houston houses?
In attics, roof rats. They climb fences, trees and power lines and get in high, near the roof edge. Mice are more likely to turn up in kitchens, pantries and garages because they come in at ground level. Plenty of houses have both. Michael reads the droppings and the entry points during the inspection to tell you which one you are dealing with.
Can rats travel between shops that share one roof?
Yes. In a row of storefronts the space above the ceiling is often open or only partly divided, so rats that get in over one shop can reach the next. That is why Michael looks at the whole roof, not just the unit that made the call. Closing the roof penetrations protects every tenant under that roof at once.
Does the attic need cleaning after the rats are gone?
It does. Droppings and soiled insulation keep smelling like a nest to the next rodent that finds the house. Leave the dry droppings alone rather than sweeping them, which puts dust in the air, and keep food in hard containers until the job is done. Michael cleans up the attic once the rats are trapped and the openings are sealed.
Contact Us Anytime
Michael handles raccoons, opossums, squirrels, rats and snakes day or night. He inspects the whole house to find every way in, catches the animals alive, and seals the openings so they cannot come back. He also repairs the damage they leave behind.
Call or Text Michael
(713) 775-8799
Cypress Critters & Pests
Cypress Critters & Pests is owner-operated by Michael Gerbino: humane wildlife exclusion, live trapping and pest control around Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston.
