Akron · Cuyahoga Falls · Stow · Barberton · Summit County
Rats or Mice in Your Akron Home? Call for Rodent Control
Pick up the phone, tell us what you're hearing or finding, and we'll take it from there.
Call (330) 300-0969- Calling costs nothing and there's no obligation
- Bait goes in locked stations, never loose
- You hear the price before work starts
Sound familiar?
It usually starts small. A scratch over the bedroom ceiling at 2 a.m. that stops the second you sit up. A few dark droppings in the silverware drawer you tell yourself must be something else. A smell in the basement you can't place.
Then it gets harder to ignore. The dog stares at the same spot on the kitchen wall. There's a chewed corner on the bag of birdseed in the garage, or the car won't start and the mechanic finds the wiring gnawed. You set a few traps, catch one, and hear more the next night.
You're not a bad housekeeper and your house isn't unusual. Older Akron homes have gaps, and rats and mice are very good at finding them.
You probably have rats or mice if...
- You hear scratching or scurrying in the walls or ceiling after the house goes quiet
- You find small dark droppings in drawers, under the sink or along the basement wall
- Food boxes, dog food bags or birdseed have chewed corners
- There's a musty, sour smell in the basement, garage or a closet
- Insulation, paper or fabric has been pulled into a loose nest
- You see fist-sized holes along the garage slab, fence or foundation
- The pets keep watching or pawing at one spot
- There are dark rub marks along the bottom of a wall or a beam
What happens when you call
- 1
You call and tell us what's going on
Describe what you're hearing or finding, where in the house, and how long it's been happening. A few questions about the home help too.
- 2
We line up a licensed local company
We connect you with an independent, licensed company that handles rodents in your part of Summit County. We don't do the work ourselves.
- 3
They come out, find the way in, and give you a price
The tech inspects the house, shows you how they're getting in, and quotes the job. Nothing starts until you decide.
Akron rodent control calls come down to two animals. House mice slip into older homes every fall, and Norway rats dig in along alleys, creek banks and detached garages. Whether it's mice in the kitchen drawers, rats burrowing under the garage slab or gaps around an old basement sill, the fix starts with finding how they get in.
If you've been looking for an exterminator in Akron who can tell a 1920s bungalow from a 1960s split-level, call and describe what's going on. We'll ask about the house, the street and what you've found so far.
Why it's worth calling now
Waiting rarely makes it cheaper. A pair of house mice can turn into a crowd over one winter, and every week they're inside means more droppings in the insulation, more chewed wire and more cleanup at the end. Once they've settled into the walls and the attic, it takes more visits to clear them out. Calling while it's still a few droppings and some night noise usually means a smaller job.
Hearing them tonight? Call now and tell us what's going on. (330) 300-0969
Rodent problems we take calls about
Rat ControlNorway rats burrowing by garages, fences and creek banks, and the ones that find their way inside. Burrows, stations, traps and sealing.Read more →
Mouse ControlHouse mice in walls, kitchens and basements, mostly from October on. Trapping, sealing and follow-up visits.Read more →Rodent Exclusion and SealingFinding and sealing the gaps rats and mice use, with steel mesh, hardware cloth, flashing and door sweeps.Read more →Basement and Crawl Space RodentsMice and rats in stone and block basements, crawl spaces and the back corner where the boxes are stored.Read more →
Attic Rodent Cleanup and SanitationRemoving droppings, nests and soiled insulation after mice or rats, and sanitizing the area.Read more →Garage, Shed and Outbuilding RodentsDetached garages off the alley, sheds, workshops and car wiring. The outbuilding is often where it starts.Read more →Commercial Rodent ControlRestaurants, shops, offices, warehouses and apartment buildings. Ongoing service with stations, traps and sealing.Read more →Rubber-Boom Houses and Long Winters
A lot of Akron went up in a hurry. In the 1910s and 1920s the rubber companies pulled in workers faster than the city could house them, and whole neighborhoods rose around the plants. Firestone Park was built by Harvey Firestone around a park shaped like the old Firestone shield. Goodyear Heights began when Frank Seiberling bought farmland in 1910 for Goodyear workers. Kenmore was its own little city until it asked to join Akron in 1929. A century later those houses have settled, the mortar has worn out of the stone and block foundations, and the old pipe holes were never packed tight.
Then the weather takes its turn. Winters run long and gray, and lake-effect bands off Lake Erie reach down into Summit County some years. Once the first hard cold arrives in October or November, mice go looking for a warm basement. Rats stay lower and closer to water: the banks of the Little Cuyahoga, the towpath corridor and the alleys behind older blocks in North Hill. Homes along the edge of the national park in the Merriman Valley pick up white-footed mice straight out of the woods.
None of this is unusual for a city this age. It's still miserable to live with. Our guide to Akron's fall mouse season covers the timing, and the old-basement sealing walk-through shows where most of the gaps hide.
The Akron rodent year
- October and November: the first hard freeze
- Mice move from the yard, the garage and the woods into basements and walls. Most of the year's mouse calls come in these weeks.
- December to February: snow on the ground
- Scratching in the ceiling at night. Rat tracks and fresh holes show up in the snow along garage walls and fences.
- March and April: the thaw
- Melting snow uncovers burrows, chewed garage door corners and a winter's worth of droppings in sheds.
- June to September: gardens and alleys
- Rats feed on tomatoes, compost, birdseed and trash carts. It's the easiest time of year to seal the foundation.
One call, not five
Describe the problem once. No working down a list of companies and leaving voicemails.
Questions about your house
Stone foundation or block? Attached garage or one off the alley? The answers shape the visit.
Bait stays locked up
Any bait goes in tamper-resistant stations. Nobody should be tossing pellets where kids and dogs walk.
Rats and mice, that's it
We don't take calls about ants or wasps. Rodents are the whole job here.
Found droppings this morning? It's a good time to call. (330) 300-0969
Questions Akron-area homeowners ask before they call
How do I know if it's a rat or a mouse?
Look at the droppings. Mouse droppings look like grains of rice, pointed at both ends. A rat's are more like a raisin, blunt and a lot bigger. Our guide to rat versus mouse signs has more.
Can I just put poison down?
Please don't scatter loose bait. Kids, dogs and outdoor cats can get into it, and a rodent that dies in the wall leaves a smell for weeks. If bait is used, it goes in locked stations.
What's a rodent job going to cost me?
It depends on the house, how long they've been there and how much sealing it needs. The company that comes out gives you the price before any work starts.
Do you cover my part of Summit County?
Akron's neighborhoods plus Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Barberton, Fairlawn, Tallmadge and nearby towns. Check the list of areas or just call.
We take calls from Highland Square and West Akron, Firestone Park, Goodyear Heights, Kenmore, North Hill, Ellet, Merriman Valley, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Barberton and nearby. Reading first? Try Akron's Fall Mouse Season or Sealing an Old Akron Basement or Rat or Mouse?.