Step 1: Call and Describe It

The line is answered 7 days a week. Tell us what you are hearing and where: the scratching in the attic, the droppings in the garage, the gnawed wire, or the rat seen along the fence. That conversation is enough for an honest first read and upfront pricing, with no obligation attached. If what you describe points at squirrels in the soffit or a tree limb bridging to the roof, you hear that too.

Step 2: The Inspection

A local exterminator confirms the rodent and finds the source. For roof rats that means the roofline, the soffits, the roof vents, and the attic, following the runways and droppings to the nest and the entry points. For Norway rats it means the foundation, the garage, and the yard burrows. Getting the identification and the entry points right is the whole game, because sealing the wrong gap or trapping without finding the way in wastes the visit.

Step 3: Trapping and Removal

Traps go where the inspection says the rats travel: the attic runways, the wall tops, and the ground-level paths, not scattered at random. Snap and secured traps are chosen around your family and pets and explained before they are set, and loose poison bait is not scattered through a home with kids and pets. The traps are monitored and cleared, and this is the step that actually removes the rats that are inside.

Step 4: Seal the Home

Trapping empties the attic, and sealing keeps it empty. The roofline gaps, open soffits, loose roof tiles, gable and roof vents, and the openings where plumbing and wiring enter all get closed, because a roof rat needs only a small gap to climb back in. This exclusion work is the difference between a treatment that lasts and one that has you calling again in a month.

Step 5: Clean Up and Follow Up

Once the rats are out and the home is sealed, the attic gets handled: droppings and nesting material removed, the area sanitized, and soiled insulation cleared and replaced where the contamination calls for it. Rat droppings and urine can carry health risks, so cleanup is done with the right equipment rather than a broom. A follow-up confirms the attic is empty and catches anything the first visit missed.

What It Costs

The pricing comes first, on the phone and after the inspection, before anything is scheduled. What moves the number: the size of the home, how established the rats are, how many entry points need sealing, and how much attic cleanup and insulation work the job needs. What never happens: surprise line items, work the inspection did not justify, or a number that changes after the fact without a conversation.