Running above the ceiling
Quick footsteps or scratching in the attic after dark. Roof rats are most active a few hours after sunset.
Scratching in the attic or droppings on the lanai? Florida Rodent Control Pros removes rats and mice from Palm Beach Gardens homes and businesses, from golf course communities like BallenIsles and Mirasol to Intracoastal waterfront homes and the condos and shops around PGA Boulevard. We find how they get in, seal it, and remove the rodents already inside.
Rodent problem right now? Our team is taking calls in Palm Beach Gardens.
Call (561) 562-7607Palm Beach Gardens was built as a planned “garden city” starting in 1959, with 12 golf courses, dozens of lakes and canals, and mature landscaping in nearly every community. That combination of water, irrigation and tree cover gives rodents cover and a water source all year, whether the home backs up to a golf course fairway or sits on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Roof rats are the rodent we remove most often here. They move through oaks, palms and ficus hedges in golf course communities like BallenIsles, Mirasol and Old Palm Golf Club, then drop onto tile roofs and get in through soffit gaps and roof edges. Norway rats stay lower, denning in canal banks, storm drains and landscaping beds, and we find them most often near seawalls, golf course ponds and dumpster areas behind the retail centers on PGA Boulevard.
Palm Beach Gardens also has a large number of seasonal and vacant properties, from winter residents in gated golf communities to condos near Midtown and Legacy Place that sit empty for weeks at a time. An empty home with no one checking the attic or garage is exactly where a rat problem goes unnoticed the longest.
Most Palm Beach Gardens jobs combine a few of these: an inspection, sealing, trapping and cleanup. Choose a service to learn more, or call and we will tell you what your property needs.
Rodents move at night, so most Palm Beach Gardens homeowners find these clues before they ever see one. If you notice 2 or more, it is time for an inspection.
Quick footsteps or scratching in the attic after dark. Roof rats are most active a few hours after sunset.
Dark pellets about 1/2 inch long point to rats. Tiny ones about 1/8 inch point to mice.
Rats gnaw on wiring, pool equipment cable and sprinkler lines. This can lead to shorts, leaks and costly repairs.
Hollowed citrus or chewed landscaping near the pool or golf course fence line is a classic roof rat sign here.
Urine and nesting material leave a sharp odor, often strongest in closets, garages and the attic hatch.
Dogs or cats staring at a wall, sniffing under appliances or pawing at a cabinet often sense rodents first.
Roof rats cause most attic calls in Palm Beach Gardens, Norway rats show up near canals, golf course ponds and dumpster areas, and house mice get into kitchens and pantries. Knowing which one you have tells us where to look and how to stop it.
Every job in Palm Beach Gardens starts with a full inspection, inside and out. We look for how rodents get in, where they live, and what is feeding them.
Trapping alone does not fix the problem if the openings stay open. We close the way in first, then remove the rodents already inside.
The CDC links rats and mice to several diseases. People can get sick from contact with droppings, urine or saliva, from bites, or from breathing dust from contaminated areas.
Source: CDC rodent control and cleanup guidance.
In Florida, pest control companies are licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) under Chapter 482, Florida Statutes. Rodent work falls under the General Household Pest and rodent control category.
Our team is EPA and FDACS certified. Call (561) 562-7607 with any questions.
We look at the whole property, from the roofline to the foundation. What we check depends on where the home sits, since a golf course lot and a canal-front lot have different weak spots.
A rat can squeeze through a gap about 1/2 inch wide, and a mouse through about 1/4 inch.
Setting traps without sealing the openings only buys time. We follow the same 5 steps on every job so the rats do not come back.
We walk the property, check the attic and mark every entry point and sign of activity.
Openings are closed with metal flashing, 1/4 inch hardware cloth, mesh and mortar. We do not rely on foam.
Traps go on the paths rats use. We check them on return visits and remove what we catch.
Droppings and nests are removed and the area is disinfected. We tell you if insulation needs replacing.
We come back until there are no new signs, then give you simple tips to keep it that way.
The number of visits depends on how many rats are inside and how many openings the home has. We tell you what to expect after the first inspection.
According to the CDC, rats and mice can spread disease through their droppings, urine, saliva and bites. These are the main concerns.
Can spread when dust from dried droppings or urine is stirred up and breathed in. This is why you should never sweep droppings.
Spread through water or soil that has rodent urine in it. Canal banks and golf course ponds after heavy rain can be a concern.
Food and counters touched by rodents or their droppings can carry salmonella bacteria.
Spread by bites or scratches, or by handling rodents. Always use gloves or tools, never bare hands.
Rodents carry fleas and mites that can move to pets and people after the rodents are gone.
Chewed wires can start fires, and chewed pool equipment or irrigation lines can cause leaks.
A lot of common advice makes a rat problem last longer. Here is what actually works.
A single mouse in the kitchen can sometimes be handled with a few snap traps. Rats on a golf course lot or canal-front property are a different job.
The problem with DIY: most store-bought fixes catch rats but leave the openings in place, so new rats move in from the next fairway, hedge row or canal bank.
Ask a technician →| Situation | DIY | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| One mouse seen once | Snap traps may be enough | Call if it comes back |
| Noises in the attic | Hard to reach and seal a tile roof safely | Roofline sealing and attic trapping |
| Droppings in several rooms | Usually means many rodents | Full inspection and plan |
| Chewed wires or pool equipment | Risk of fire or leaks | Find the source and seal it |
| Dead rodent smell | Hard to locate in walls | Locate, remove and deodorize |
| Rodents at a vacant or seasonal home | No one there to check traps | Scheduled visits with a report sent to the owner |
From gated golf communities like BallenIsles, Mirasol and Old Palm Golf Club to Intracoastal waterfront homes and condos near PGA Boulevard, each property has its own weak spots. We look at the roofline, attic, garage and yard, then seal the openings rats are using.
We check soffits, vents and tile roof edges, then walk you through what we found.
Openings are closed with metal flashing, hardware cloth and mortar, not foam alone.
Indoor trapping avoids dead rodents in the walls and keeps bait away from kids and pets.
We remove droppings and nests and tell you if insulation should be replaced.
Restaurants and shops at The Gardens Mall, PGA Commons, Midtown and Legacy Place deal with daily deliveries and shared dumpster areas. Florida restaurants are inspected by the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants, and signs of rodents are something inspectors look for.
Regular visits to check traps and stations, planned around your business hours.
A record of each visit that you can show a manager or inspector.
Door sweeps and gaps at back doors and dumpster corrals closed with rodent-proof materials.
Simple changes to dumpster areas and dry storage that make your site less attractive to rats.
Palm Beach Gardens was built out as a planned community starting in 1959, so most homes are newer construction, but the setting around each one changes where rats get in.
Palm Beach Gardens has a large number of part-time residents and second homes, especially in the golf communities and along the water. A rat problem in an empty house does not go away on its own, it just goes unnoticed longer.
Palm Beach Gardens covers golf communities, waterfront streets and busy retail corridors. Here is what we usually check first in each type of area.
Gated golf communities built around country club courses and lakes. Rats travel the fairway tree lines and use screen enclosures to reach the roof.
Home to the PGA National Resort and Spa and dense golf course landscaping. Heavy irrigation and mature trees give rats cover close to the house.
Seawalls and docks along the Intracoastal Waterway. Norway rats burrow near the water and move into garages and pool equipment rooms.
Restaurants, shops and offices with shared dumpster areas along the PGA Boulevard corridor. We set up scheduled commercial service with written logs here.
Established residential streets next to busy retail centers. We check garages, AC lines and hedges close to the property line.
Newer construction near the city’s western edge, closer to preserve land and canals. Sealing gaps early matters before landscaping fills in.
South Florida stays warm most of the year, so rodents never fully go dormant here, but the weather and the calendar both change where they turn up.
Afternoon storms from June to September raise water levels in golf course lakes and canals, pushing Norway rats out of burrows and toward garages and screen enclosures.
Tip: Keep garage doors closed and clear stored items off the floor.
Storm surge along the Intracoastal Waterway can push rats out of burrows and into homes, and wind damage can open new gaps in soffits, screen enclosures and roof tiles.
Tip: After a storm, walk the roofline and screen enclosure before assuming everything is fine.
Palm Beach Gardens fills back up with part-time and seasonal residents each fall. Homes that sat quiet over the summer sometimes have a rat problem already established by the time the owner returns.
Tip: Book a pre-arrival inspection before you move back in for the season.
On cooler nights, rats look for warm, dry attics. This is when many Palm Beach Gardens homeowners first hear scratching overhead.
Tip: Check vents and soffits in the fall, before cooler weather sets in.
Sealing the openings does most of the work. These habits help keep new rodents from moving in.
Palm Beach Gardens is not one kind of property. What we do at a golf course home in BallenIsles is different from what we do at a condo near PGA Boulevard.
Mature oaks, palms and hedges along the golf course give roof rats a path from the fairway straight onto the roof, where they get in through soffit gaps and tile edges.
Our approach: We inspect the roofline and screen enclosure, seal gaps with metal and hardware cloth, then trap in the attic until activity stops.
Norway rats burrow into canal banks and seawalls, then move into garages and pool equipment rooms looking for food and shelter.
Our approach: We inspect the shoreline and equipment pads, then bait and close off the ground-level entry points we find.
A home that sits empty for part of the year can have rats settle in for weeks before anyone notices the droppings or chewed wiring.
Our approach: We set up scheduled check visits, coordinate with your property manager or HOA, and send a report after every stop.
These steps follow CDC cleanup guidance and help keep your family safe.
Call (561) 562-7607These are the ZIP codes we serve most in Palm Beach Gardens, but we cover the whole city and northern Palm Beach County. Call if you do not see yours.
BallenIsles · Mirasol · Old Palm Golf Club · PGA National · Palm Beach Square · Alton · Downtown at the Gardens · Midtown · PGA Commons
“Florida Rodent Control Pros found where the rats were getting onto our roof from the golf course side and sealed it up. Haven’t heard a thing since.”
Robert H.Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Verified“We are only here part of the year, and they coordinated the whole visit with our property manager while we were up north. Easy to work with.”
Diane M.Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Verified“Prompt, professional and they explained exactly what they found in the attic. Would call them again.”
Kevin P.Palm Beach Gardens, FL
VerifiedHave a question that is not listed? Call and a team member will help.
Call (561) 562-7607 →Most homes need a first visit for the inspection and sealing, then follow-up visits over the next few weeks to check traps. The exact number depends on how many rats are inside and how many openings the property has. We tell you what to expect after the first inspection.
Yes. We regularly schedule inspections and follow-up visits at seasonal and vacant homes, and we can coordinate directly with a property manager, HOA or house sitter and send you a report after each visit.
Yes. The same hedges, irrigation and golf course ponds that make these communities attractive also give rodents cover and water. A gate and an HOA landscaping crew do not stop rats from moving along fence lines and fairway tree lines.
We do not recommend it. Poisoned rats often die inside walls or ceilings where you cannot reach them, which causes a strong smell. Trapping indoors and sealing the openings works better.
Rats are usually active at night, while squirrels are active in the daytime. Rat droppings are about 1/2 inch long. If you are not sure, an inspection will tell us which animal it is.
The CDC advises not to sweep or vacuum droppings. Air out the area, wear gloves, spray the droppings with disinfectant or a bleach solution, let it soak for 5 minutes, then wipe up with paper towels. For attics or large amounts, call us.
Pest control businesses in Florida are licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). You can look up a license on the FDACS website before you hire anyone.
Yes. We also serve Jupiter, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach and Royal Palm Beach. Call (561) 562-7607 to check your address.
Call now. We will inspect the property, show you where rodents are getting in, and seal it so they stay out.
Call us, tell us what you are seeing and where you are located, and our team will confirm the right appointment type and timing.
These pictures come from our own inspection cameras and job sites: rats caught in traps, mice under cabinets, the entry points we find, and the sealing work that keeps them out.
Rat caughtClose-up of a rat caught in a cage trap
Exclusion workTechnician sealing a block wall gap with mortar
Entry point foundRat squeezing past an unsealed pipe penetration in a wall
Kitchen inspectionThree mice caught on camera under a cabinet
Trap cameraNight camera photo of a rat at a snap trap
Attic inspectionMouse found near attic insulation
Station checkRat found inside a rodent station during a service check
Entry point checkMouse beside a dryer vent duct
TrappingMouse approaching a trap station near roof trusses
Rat caughtRat caught in a cage trap outside a Florida home
Food source foundMouse feeding on crumbs under a cabinet
Trap cameraNight camera photo of a rat approaching a baited snap trap
Kitchen inspectionMouse moving along a cabinet base
Kitchen inspectionTwo mice under a cabinet, a sign of active activity