Rodent Control

Rats or Mice in or Around Your Property?

Rodent activity is one of the more disruptive pest problems a home or business can have. Rats and mice can damage insulation, wiring, stored goods, and food packaging, and they can spread contamination through droppings and urine. A small rodent issue that goes unaddressed for a season can become a serious one — and in food-service or rental properties, it can also become a regulatory issue.

Apollo Pest Control provides rodent control for homes, suites, garages, crawlspaces, attics, sheds, restaurants, cafés and small businesses. Service is designed around the way rats and mice actually behave, not around guesswork or surface-level treatments.

Why Rodent Control Is Different From Other Pest Work

Rodent control is rarely a one-product, one-visit job. Rats and mice respond to changes in their environment — they avoid new objects, learn to bypass traps, and find new entry points if old ones are sealed without addressing what attracted them in the first place. A proper rodent service plan considers:

What species is actually present (rats and mice behave differently)
How they are entering the structure
What is keeping them on the property (food, water, shelter)
Where they travel inside the building
What treatment method matches the situation safely
What needs to change so they don't come back

Common Signs of Rodent Activity

Some signs are obvious. Others are easy to miss until activity has been going on for weeks:

Droppings under sinks, in cupboards, garages, attics, sheds or crawlspaces
Gnaw marks on food packaging, wood, plastic, or wiring
Scratching or rustling sounds in walls, ceilings or under appliances at night
Greasy rub marks along baseboards, beams or walls
Nesting material — shredded paper, fabric, or insulation — in hidden corners
Burrows or holes near foundations, decks, or sheds
Pet behaviour changes — sudden interest in a wall or appliance
Damaged food packaging in the pantry, garage, or basement
A musky smell in confined spaces

How Apollo Approaches Rodent Control

Garages and crawlspaces are the most common rodent harbourage areas.

Rodent control works best when it goes beyond placing traps. Apollo Pest Control looks at:

Activity — where the rodents are travelling and feeding
Entry points — gaps, vents, utility openings, damaged screens
Attractants — pet food, bird seed, garbage, compost, fallen fruit
Shelter — clutter, vegetation, firewood against the building
Treatment — trapping or other appropriate control methods
Prevention — sealing, sanitation and storage recommendations
Follow-up — confirming activity has stopped before closing the file

Rats vs. Mice — They Are Not Treated the Same

Rats and mice behave differently, enter through different sized openings, and respond to different control approaches. Treating a rat problem as if it were a mouse problem — or the other way around — usually means the activity continues.

	Rats	Mice
Body size	Larger — body alone 18–25 cm	Small — body 6–10 cm
Entry gap needed	About 1.3 cm (half-inch)	About 0.6 cm (size of a dime)
Nesting	Often outdoors in burrows, then forages indoors	Often indoors, near food and warmth
Behaviour	Cautious — avoid new objects at first	Curious — investigate new objects quickly
Droppings	Larger, ~12 mm long	Small, rice-grain sized

Accurate identification is part of every rodent service visit.

Rat Control — larger, more cautious, often outdoor-nesting
Mouse Control — smaller, more curious, often indoor-nesting

Where Rodents Get In

Most homes have several potential rodent entry points. The most common ones we find:

Crawlspace vents with damaged or loose screens
Gaps under garage doors or worn weatherstripping
Pipe and utility line penetrations
Gaps where decks meet the foundation
Roof and soffit junctions
Damaged siding, trim, or attic vents
Outdoor stair risers and porch crawlspaces

Why DIY Rodent Control Often Fails

Snap traps and store-bought bait stations can catch a few rodents, but they rarely solve the problem on their own. The most common reasons DIY rodent control fails:

The entry points are not sealed, so new rodents keep arriving
Traps are placed where rodents are seen, not where they actually travel
Food sources around the property continue to support activity
Only a few are caught — the rest get trap-shy
Outdoor bait stations attract rodents toward the property instead of away from it
Symptoms (droppings, sounds) get treated, but the source is never found

Rodent Control for Restaurants and Small Businesses

For food-service businesses, rodent activity is also a regulatory issue. Apollo Pest Control provides discreet, documented rodent service with written records that can be shared with a health inspector if needed. Visits can be scheduled outside business hours.