Rodent Control Winter Haven, FL

Old house feature	How rodents use it	How we close it
Wood siding and corner boards	Gaps open where boards have shrunk or rotted, often at the corners and under windows	Fill with metal flashing or hardware cloth backed by sealant, matched to the trim
Gable and attic vents	Original louvers often have no screen or a rusted one. Roof rats walk right in	Fit 1/4 inch hardware cloth behind the vent so it still breathes and looks the same from the street
Raised floors and crawl spaces	Broken vent screens and gaps around plumbing let rats and mice nest under the floor	New screens on crawl vents, metal collars around pipes, door on the access opening
Porches and porch roofs	Where a porch roof meets the main wall there is often a gap big enough for a rat	Seal the joint with sheet metal bent to the roof line
Old chimneys and roof jacks	Loose flashing and open chases give a path into the attic	Re-seal flashing and cap open chases with metal mesh
Big shade trees	Live oaks and old citrus hang over the roof and act as a bridge	Trim limbs back so they do not touch the roof or lines

Time of year	What is going on	What to do
September to March	Backyard oranges and grapefruit ripen. Roof rats hollow out fruit on the tree, leaving a quarter size hole	Pick up dropped fruit, harvest early, keep limbs 3 feet or more off the roof
Winter cold snaps	A few cool nights push rodents into attics, garages and crawl spaces	Check garage door seals and the gaps around AC lines before it gets cold
Spring	Breeding picks up and young rats leave the nest looking for space	Seal openings early, before a small group becomes a colony
June to September	The rainy season. High water on the lakes and canals can flood ground burrows	Watch for new burrows near slabs and sheds, and for rats moving up into the house
After clearing or building nearby	New subdivisions and warehouse sites push rodents off the land	Have the house checked if a nearby lot is cleared

Yes. The canals between the Chain of Lakes give rats a long, protected bank to live and travel along. Seawalls, docks, boathouses and shoreline plants make good cover, and rats cross from there to your yard and house.

Almost always roof rats (Rattus rattus). They climb trees, palms and power lines and get in at the soffit, roof edge or gable vent. Norway rats stay on the ground near water and dumpsters, and house mice show up in kitchens and garages.

In most cases, yes. We put hardware cloth behind original vents, use flashing that matches the trim and seal gaps from inside where we can. The goal is to close the openings without changing what you see from the street.

Yes. We map and number every bait station and trap, check dock seals and doors on each visit, and leave written logs your team can hand to an auditor or inspector.

If the fruit has a round hole about the size of a quarter and the inside is scooped out while it is still on the tree, it is most likely a roof rat. Pick up dropped fruit and keep limbs off the roof.

Inside the city, the Code Compliance Division handles overgrowth, junk and substandard housing. You can file a request through Access Winter Haven or the TRAKiT portal. If your carts are gray and black, you are in a county area.

No. Rats that eat bait often die inside walls and ceilings and leave a smell for weeks. Inside the house we seal and trap. Any outdoor bait goes in locked, tamper-resistant stations, used by the label.

Yes. We cover Polk County, including Auburndale, Eagle Lake, Lake Alfred, Cypress Gardens, Lake Wales, Bartow, Haines City and Lakeland. Our team is EPA and FDACS certified under Chapter 482, Florida Statutes, and we answer the phone 24/7.