Pasadena is full of the kind of housing roof rats love. The historic Craftsman homes of Bungalow Heaven, the older estates near the Arroyo, and the leafy streets below the San Gabriel foothills come with mature trees, established plantings, and construction gaps that have had a century to open up. Add the warm foothill climate and you get roof rats that stay active and breeding for most of the year.
The classic Pasadena pattern is a roof rat colony that climbs a fruit tree, an ivy-covered fence, or a palm, crosses onto the roof, and drops into the attic through a gap at the eaves or a vent. Homeowners usually notice the scratching overhead in the evening before they see anything, followed by droppings in the attic or garage. House mice are the other regular caller, working into kitchens and garages through openings as small as a dime, and the foothills keep a steady supply of rodents moving toward the homes at their edge.
We treat Pasadena homes by finding every entry point first, then sealing the roofline, vents, pipe gaps, and garage before setting traps for the rodents already inside. On a century-old home the sealing step is what makes the difference, because there are almost always several gaps rather than one, and closing all of them is what keeps the rats from coming back.
If you are hearing activity in the attic or finding droppings in the garage, call and connect with a local rodent exterminator serving Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, often the same day.