Rodents in attics in adjacent townhouses

Rodents in attics in adjacent townhouses

Miramar, FL · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 4 votes

Hello all, I have rodents in a townhouse. It is part of a building with 5 adjacent townhouses. A couple neighbors heard rodent activity in the attic and this is where I have the problem too. Rodents are circulating from an attic to the other. The pest control companies quoted sealing all entry points in the building's ground floor rather than in my ground floor and attic. The idea is to seal all entries in and around the 5 units' ground floor, capture the rodents, and by sealing the entire ground floor, any future ones will have no way of accessing the roofs and attics, theoretically. This makes sense, but the problem is that getting the 5 neighbors to pitch in on the $2,500 cost is difficult based on past problems, I don't intend to pay the whole bill, and the association is unresponsive to demand that the problem be solved by all neighbors. So, the only option left is that a pest control company focuses on sealing entry points in my home only, on the ground floor and inside the attic. But I still have not found a company interested in sealing only my unit . Has anyone faced this challenge and how did you resolve it? TIA 

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Randall AlanPro Member
Investor · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Alejandro A.:

Thanks a lot for your thorough response, Randy.  Is one generally safe from rats when accessing the attic to place bait or traps? if it is risky, maybe that part can be let to pest control people. Thanks!  

@Alejandro A.

 You are unlikely to see rodents up close.  They are afraid of people.   Usually if you use a flashlight you can see their eyes glow if they are around... but almost always at a distance.  They aren't going to charge at you or anything.  What you are looking for is evidence of their presence... rat droppings mostly.  Put your traps where you see they have been.  They also like to eat through AC ducts to either cool off or get to water / condensation.  So keep an eye out for other damage they have done... to both target (and repair) those areas.

Randy

Randy

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  • Randall AlanPro Member
    Investor · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Alejandro A.:

    Hello all, I have rodents in a townhouse. It is part of a building with 5 adjacent townhouses. A couple neighbors heard rodent activity in the attic and this is where I have the problem too. Rodents are circulating from an attic to the other. The pest control companies quoted sealing all entry points in the building's ground floor rather than in my ground floor and attic. The idea is to seal all entries in and around the 5 units' ground floor, capture the rodents, and by sealing the entire ground floor, any future ones will have no way of accessing the roofs and attics, theoretically. This makes sense, but the problem is that getting the 5 neighbors to pitch in on the $2,500 cost is difficult based on past problems, I don't intend to pay the whole bill, and the association is unresponsive to demand that the problem be solved by all neighbors. So, the only option left is that a pest control company focuses on sealing entry points in my home only, on the ground floor and inside the attic. But I still have not found a company interested in sealing only my unit . Has anyone faced this challenge and how did you resolve it? TIA 

    @Alejandro A.

     I have had this issue several times, and the solution is pretty easy to 'do-it-yourself' if so inclined.  In almost all my instances, the rodents were accessing the attic where the AC lines run up the side of the house (into the attic typically - go figure!).  Rats and mice can scratch through basic foam you would shoot into that spaces.... though foam alone often could probably solve your issue.  To make sure they can't just claw through it, you stick steel wool up in the hole first and then foam that into place.  The rats and such generally can't get through that.  Other than that, it's just looking for obvious access points in the soffit, attic vents, etc.  It's really not rocket science!  If there are trees overhanging the roof, you would want to look at anything like chimneys, or vents and make sure they have a metal screen over them.  The rodent people get paid entirely too much for this service in my opinion.  There is really no secret to it... just not a fun job, so it seems like they feel they can charge a huge fee for it!  You can bait the ones that are already in the attic with poison pellets, etc from Home Depot.  Then seal the access points to the outside and you should be good.  If you don't want to pay the $2,500 fee... usually you can pay your pest control people about $150-250 to come out and what you might call spot treat for them.  They won't do all the sealing up... but will bait and trap them and come back and remove them if you don't want to deal with that part.

    The one challenge I had that was tougher was a wood framed house with a crawl space underneath.  Without sealing the entire underside of the house the rodents had access to the entire crawl and could make their way into the garage.  Never into the house, but the garage was bad enough for the tenants.  We had 2 sets move out within a year, and we sold it after that because we didn't want to deal with the problems any more - the rats just being one of several.  It was during the run-up in real estate though, so we still made a killing on the property!

    Wish you the best!

    Randy

  • Miramar, FL · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 4 votes
    3y

    Thanks a lot for your thorough response, Randy.  Is one generally safe from rats when accessing the attic to place bait or traps? if it is risky, maybe that part can be let to pest control people. Thanks!  

  • Randall AlanPro Member
    Investor · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Alejandro A.:

    Thanks a lot for your thorough response, Randy.  Is one generally safe from rats when accessing the attic to place bait or traps? if it is risky, maybe that part can be let to pest control people. Thanks!  

    @Alejandro A.

     You are unlikely to see rodents up close.  They are afraid of people.   Usually if you use a flashlight you can see their eyes glow if they are around... but almost always at a distance.  They aren't going to charge at you or anything.  What you are looking for is evidence of their presence... rat droppings mostly.  Put your traps where you see they have been.  They also like to eat through AC ducts to either cool off or get to water / condensation.  So keep an eye out for other damage they have done... to both target (and repair) those areas.

    Randy

    Randy

  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    3y

    I'd be more concerned from a safety perspective that there is no fire break between the units in the attic.  Any time you are dealing with rodents, wear a mask for your own safety.

  • Miramar, FL · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 4 votes
    3y

    Thank you @Randall Alan very much for your thoughtfull response

  • Realtor · Athens, GA · Member since 2023 · 201 posts · 104 votes
    3y

    Pest control company should be able to do this easily, if there is an HOA they can make everyone team up on the cost. If not then you will need to convince neighbors of the danger that rodents can bring to a property. Fire and disease are real issues that happen in these situations. Depending on building codes you might have a firewall requirement between attic spaces for each unit, these may be in need of repair as well. If nothing else you could pay someone to access your part of the attic and build you a firewall and keep the rodents out of your space.

  • Investor · Scottsdale Austin Tuktoyaktuk · Member since 2021 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Alejandro A.:

    Hello all, I have rodents in a townhouse. It is part of a building with 5 adjacent townhouses. A couple neighbors heard rodent activity in the attic and this is where I have the problem too. Rodents are circulating from an attic to the other. The pest control companies quoted sealing all entry points in the building's ground floor rather than in my ground floor and attic. The idea is to seal all entries in and around the 5 units' ground floor, capture the rodents, and by sealing the entire ground floor, any future ones will have no way of accessing the roofs and attics, theoretically. This makes sense, but the problem is that getting the 5 neighbors to pitch in on the $2,500 cost is difficult based on past problems, I don't intend to pay the whole bill, and the association is unresponsive to demand that the problem be solved by all neighbors. So, the only option left is that a pest control company focuses on sealing entry points in my home only, on the ground floor and inside the attic. But I still have not found a company interested in sealing only my unit . Has anyone faced this challenge and how did you resolve it? TIA 

    Rat traps are a buck and a quarter each at Home Depot and peanut butter is 2 bucks a jar. A good pair of leather gloves is $15, spray with lysol after each setting of traps. The usual litter is 8 to 18 rats and they reproduce at about 8 weeks old. That's a lot of rats and you have to keep on top of it. I've caught 32 rats and a squirrel so far in the house I just bought. At some point they will surrender, because I won't. Then vacuum the rat trailings and spray with lysol and you're good to go.

  • Investor · Scottsdale Austin Tuktoyaktuk · Member since 2021 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Theresa Harris:

    I'd be more concerned from a safety perspective that there is no fire break between the units in the attic.  Any time you are dealing with rodents, wear a mask for your own safety.

    Yes, if you wear a mask they won't know who you are and they won't recognize you when you are walking around the house.
  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Account Closed:
    Quote from @Theresa Harris:

    I'd be more concerned from a safety perspective that there is no fire break between the units in the attic.  Any time you are dealing with rodents, wear a mask for your own safety.

    Yes, if you wear a mask they won't know who you are and they won't recognize you when you are walking around the house.

     If it is a scary mask, you will scare them off.  But in all seriousness, rodents can transmit diseases such as hantavirus to humans through their urine, feces and saliva. 

  • Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    3y

    If $2500 would handle it, and if it were mine, I'd pay the $2,500 and have the place de-Ratted.

    If the others wish to live in these conditions and not pay, I would pay for it--because it seems like the only true "Solution".

    As has been said before Rats bring diseases, and 5/8" of gypsum ceiling board is all that separates them from your renters.

    Good Luck!

    .

  • Investor · Scottsdale Austin Tuktoyaktuk · Member since 2021 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Theresa Harris:
    Quote from @Account Closed:
    Quote from @Theresa Harris:

    I'd be more concerned from a safety perspective that there is no fire break between the units in the attic.  Any time you are dealing with rodents, wear a mask for your own safety.

    Yes, if you wear a mask they won't know who you are and they won't recognize you when you are walking around the house.

     If it is a scary mask, you will scare them off.  But in all seriousness, rodents can transmit diseases such as hantavirus to humans through their urine, feces and saliva. 

    Masks for sure. I also recommend spraying the space with Lysol.

    One thing people don't think about is that there is usually a 1 foot high space between floors for duct work, pipes, electrical etc and/or inside the walls that the rats love to claim as their personal space. 

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