Look at the droppings, where you hear the noise and what is getting chewed. Roof rat droppings are about half an inch long with pointed ends; mouse droppings are much smaller, about the size of a grain of rice. Roof rats travel high, in the attic, along the tops of fences and across tree limbs to the roof. Mice stay low, in the kitchen, the pantry, the garage and along the bottoms of walls. Either way, call Cypress Critters & Pests at 713-775-8799. The fix for both is trapping inside and sealing outside.
What do the droppings and other signs tell me?
Droppings are the easiest clue to read, because both animals leave plenty of them along the paths they use. Look at them where they lie and do not pick them up with bare hands. Here is how the signs line up:
| Sign | Roof rat | Mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Droppings | About half an inch, dark, pointed at the ends | About the size of a grain of rice |
| Where you hear it | Attic, ceiling, upper walls | Kitchen cabinets, pantry, lower walls, garage |
| When you hear it | After dark, often soon after the house goes quiet | At night, and sometimes in the day |
| What it sounds like | Running and thumping across the ceiling | Light scratching and quick scurrying |
| What gets chewed | Wiring, attic vents, fruit on backyard trees, pet food | Food boxes, paper, insulation, cabinet corners |
| Smallest gap it uses | About the size of a quarter | Smaller still, about the size of a dime |
| Marks it leaves | Dark, greasy rub marks along beams and rafters | Small trails of droppings along baseboards |
Where in the house do they show up?
Roof rats live up to their name. They are climbers, and they come into a house from above: off an overhanging limb, along a power or cable line, or up the corner of the house to a gap at the roofline or an attic vent. Once inside, they run the attic and the tops of the walls, and the first thing most people notice is noise over the bedroom after dark. Mice travel on the ground. They come in under a worn garage door seal, through a gap where a pipe enters the wall, or through a crack at the foundation, and they set up near food. If you are finding signs in the pantry and the garage but the attic is quiet, mice are the better guess.
You can have both. In a house with fruit trees, a bird feeder or pet food outside, it is not unusual to find roof rats in the attic and mice in the garage at the same time.
Does it matter which one I have?
It matters for where Michael looks and how he sets the traps, but not for the basic fix. Roof rats are wary of anything new and will walk around a trap for days, so traps go on the runways they already use, up high, and they get checked often. Mice are curious and get caught faster, but there are usually more of them than people think. Either way, the inspection tells him where they are getting in, and the openings decide the job more than the animal does.
Call or text 713-775-8799 and tell Michael what you are finding and where.
Why does bait alone not fix it?
Bait kills some of the rodents already inside, but it does nothing about the hole they used, so new ones keep coming. It also does not choose where the rodent dies, and a rat that eats bait in the attic often dies inside a wall, which brings a smell nobody wants. Trapping inside has the same limit by itself: it removes the rats you have, and the open gaps let the next ones in. That is why animal exclusion work is the part that ends it. Michael seals every gap at the roofline, the vents, the A/C and plumbing chases and the garage door corners with metal and hardware cloth that rodents cannot chew through.
When should I call?
Call as soon as you find droppings or hear movement at night. Rodents breed fast, and the longer they stay, the more they chew. The rat and mouse control page explains how Michael inspects, traps and seals. On the north and northwest side of Houston, with its older neighborhoods and bayou corridors, the page on rat and mouse control in Houston covers that area. If you hear something in the ceiling tonight, call 713-775-8799.
Questions people ask about roof rats and mice
Can roof rats and mice live in the same house?
Yes, and it happens more often than people expect. Roof rats tend to take the attic and the upper walls, while mice settle in the kitchen, the pantry or the garage. Because they come in at different heights, sealing one gap does not stop both. That is why the inspection covers the roofline and the foundation.
Are the droppings in my attic from rats or squirrels?
Squirrel droppings are a little larger and more rounded than roof rat droppings, and squirrels are busy in the daytime, not after dark. If the noise comes at night and the droppings are narrow with pointed ends, it is most likely roof rats. Chewed wiring and greasy rub marks along the rafters also point to rats.
Why do I only hear the rats at night?
Roof rats are night animals. They stay hidden while the house is busy and come out to travel and feed once it goes quiet, so the running often starts soon after you go to bed. Mice keep a similar schedule but are bolder and may show up in daylight. Noise over the bedroom at night is the classic roof rat sign.
How small a gap can a mouse squeeze through?
Smaller than most people believe. A mouse can get through a gap about the size of a dime, and a roof rat through one about the size of a quarter. That is why sealing is detail work: the gaps around pipes, the corners of the garage door and the edges of vents all have to be closed with material they cannot chew.
