Pest Control Lemon Grove Lemon Grove, CA (888) 217-3626

Lemon Grove, CA

Something is scratching above the ceiling at night

Scratching or scurrying overhead after dark almost always means something is living in the attic or the ceiling void. In this part of San Diego County the usual answer is roof rats, and the name matters: they came in from above.

(888) 217-3626

Licensed California operators. No obligation for the call.

Why it will not stop on its own

They are nesting, not passing through. An animal moving overhead at the same time every evening has a nest up there and a route in and out.

Roof rats climb. They travel along fences, utility lines and tree branches, and enter at a gap in the eave, a vent with torn mesh, or where a pipe passes through the roofline. Looking under the sink misses all of it.

Gnawing is the part nobody sees. Rodents gnaw constantly, including on wire insulation, and that is the reason not to leave it for a season.

Trapping without sealing is temporary. Take the animals out and leave the opening, and the route stays open for the next one.

What the visit involves

A technician starts outside and looks up: the roofline, eaves, vent screens, where cables and pipes enter, and any branch or wire that reaches the roof.

Then the attic itself, for droppings, greasy rub marks along the runs, gnawing and nesting material. Traps go on the runs rather than in the open, and the openings are closed with material that cannot be chewed — hardware cloth, sheet metal, mortar.

What to say when you call

  • What time you hear it, and whether it is the same time each night
  • Whether it sounds like scratching, scurrying or something heavier
  • Whether any tree branch or wire touches the roof
  • Whether the attic has ever been looked at

Common questions

Could it be something other than a rat? It could. What time it starts, how heavy it sounds and whether it moves in a straight run all help narrow it, which is why those details are worth having ready.

Do I have to cut the tree down? Usually just the branches that reach the roof. That removes the bridge without removing the tree.

Is poison the fast answer? Ask where the animal will die. An animal that dies inside a wall void is a smell nobody can reach for weeks.

Describe what you have seen and where. Call to check today's availability in your ZIP code.

(888) 217-3626

Related

Rodent control in Lemon GrovePest control in Lemon Grove 91945

Other things people find

I found droppings in the pantryMeasure them before you clean. A quarter of an inch is a mouse, half an inch is a rat, and the two need different work.I woke up with bites in a lineBites appearing overnight in a row on exposed skin are worth checking the bed for. Bites alone never confirm what caused them.Roaches scatter when I turn on the kitchen lightSeeing roaches scatter when you turn on the light means the population is large enough to be pushed into the open. Which kind decides everything.Something has chewed through the food packagingChewed corners on boxes and bags mean an established route, not a visitor. Sealing the food does not close the way in.Something is biting my ankles indoorsBites around the ankles usually mean fleas, because fleas jump from floor level. Most of the population is in the carpet, not on the pet.The yard is full of mosquitoesThe mosquitoes biting in a San Diego yard breed in very small amounts of standing water, usually on the property itself.There are dark specks along the mattress seamSmall dark dots along a mattress seam, with pale shed skins nearby, are the usual first sign of bed bugs. Spraying them spreads the problem.There are mud tubes running up the foundationPencil-width mud tubes running up masonry are subterranean termites travelling from the soil to the wood. Breaking one tells you if it is active.There are silverfish in the bathroomSilverfish mean damp, not dirt. They are harmless but they point at a moisture problem that is usually worth finding.There are tiny hard pellets on the windowsillDry six-sided pellets below wood are drywood termite frass. They live inside the timber, which is why nothing shows on the foundation.There is a pile of small wings on the windowsillSmall identical wings shed in a pile mean a termite swarm, and a swarm means a colony old enough to reproduce.There is a trail of ants across the kitchenA line of small dark ants moving both ways means a nest nearby and something feeding it. What it is and what to do about it in Lemon Grove.There is a web and a dark spider in the garageMost garage spiders are harmless. The western black widow is the one worth checking for, and it sits under an irregular tangle in a sheltered corner.There was a cockroach in the bathroom in the middle of the dayA roach out in the open during the day usually means crowding or a route in from a drain. The two have completely different answers.

Service areas

Lemon Grove 91945Spring Valley 91977La Mesa (Mount Helix) 91941La Mesa 91942San Diego (Encanto) 92114San Diego (College Area) 92115San Diego (City Heights) 92105San Diego (Paradise Hills) 92139San Diego (Logan Heights) 92113National City 91950Bonita 91902Chula Vista 91910El Cajon 92020El Cajon (East) 92021

Updated

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