Rodent Control in Stow, Ohio

Stow sits northeast of Akron, between Cuyahoga Falls and Kent. Most of the city was built after the Second World War, so the streets are lined with ranches, split-levels and colonials on suburban lots. Silver Springs Park is the big local park, and Fish Creek winds through town.

Rodent control in Stow mostly means mice in houses and attached garages, with the occasional rat near the creeks and the parks.

How mice get into a Stow split-level

Newer houses don't have stone foundations, but they're not sealed tight either. The attached garage is the main way in. Mice slip under a worn door seal or through the gap at a bent corner, nest in the garage through the fall, then find the door into the house or a gap where the garage wall meets the living space. Dryer vents with broken flaps, the AC line, the hose bib and the joint where a deck or addition meets the house are next on the list.

In a split-level, the lower level sits close to the ground and it's often where the first droppings turn up, behind the couch or in the laundry room. Mouse removal clears out the ones inside, and sealing the garage and foundation is what stops the next round. If you've finished the basement, mice can travel above the drop ceiling and behind paneling, and the first sign may be a smell rather than droppings.

Fish Creek, the parks and backyard sheds

Homes near Fish Creek and the bigger parks see more mice and some rats. Rats dig along creek banks and under sheds that sit right on the soil, and mice move out of the fields and woods each fall. A shed full of grass seed and birdseed is an easy winter home. Garage and shed rodent work covers outbuildings, and if you're seeing burrows the tech will add rat control to the plan.

Yards that back onto wooded strips or retention ponds see more of it. A brush pile, a compost bin and a bird feeder near the house all help mice get through the fall. Move the feeder out toward the back of the yard, or take it down until spring.

Cuyahoga Falls sits right to the west, and Cuyahoga Falls' newer streets deal with the same garage gaps. The fall mouse guide has a checklist that fits houses like these. Call when you've found the first droppings, not the fiftieth.

Mice on the edges of Stow's parks and open ground

Stow has more green space tucked between its subdivisions than people expect. Adell Durbin Park, Meadowbrook Lake Park and Oregon Trail Park all sit close to houses, and the city also owns Fox Den Golf Course. Tall grass at a tree line, pond edges and brushy corners make good summer cover for field mice. When the mowing slows down in fall and the first frost hits, those mice head for the nearest warm building. In Stow, that's usually an attached garage with a door seal that's seen too many winters.

Houses near Route 8 and the busier stretches of Darrow and Kent Roads run into something else. Commercial strips mean dumpsters and restaurant trash, and rats from behind those lots can work their way into backyards nearby. A smooth, worn path along a fence or a fresh hole beside the patio slab deserves a closer look. Most Stow calls are still about mice, though, and the fix usually comes down to sealing up the garage and house once the ones inside are trapped. Munroe Falls and Silver Lake border Stow, and homes there deal with the same garage gaps as homes in Cuyahoga Falls to the west.

Around Stow: Silver Springs Park · Fish Creek · Graham Road · Darrow Road · Kent Road (ZIP 44224)

Also serving Highland Square and West Akron, Firestone Park, Goodyear Heights, Kenmore, North Hill, Ellet, Merriman Valley, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton.