Rodent service
Rat Removal in Charleston, SC
Closing the way the rats came in first, then getting the ones already in the building out of it, without poison. Sealing first is what makes the removal last.
Why we do not use poison
Anticoagulant bait does kill rats. The problem is where. A poisoned rat dies somewhere inside the structure it was living in, which in a Lowcountry house means inside a wall cavity, above a ceiling or under the floor system, and there is no way to reach it. What follows is a smell that lasts weeks and a flare of flies, and none of it has done anything about the hole the rat used to get in.
It also does nothing about the next one. Bait treats the population, not the building, which is exactly why bait stations get refilled month after month on a contract.
We trap instead, using traps and the Rat Vac system, so what comes out of the house is accounted for and comes out in daylight rather than decomposing in a joist bay.
How the removal actually runs
It starts with the free phone estimate, because you cannot remove what you have not found. A technician then goes into the crawl space and the attic rather than looking at them from the hatch, and works the roofline and the pier line from outside, ending with the entry points written down.
Once the entry points are sealed, trapping runs over several days rather than one visit. Rats are neophobic - they avoid a new object in a familiar space until it stops being new - so a single set of traps left overnight tells you very little. We set to the runs and the droppings we found, and we come back.
A rat that came in low at the pier line and a rat that came in high at the roofline are the same species problem with different geometry, and the trapping goes where the evidence is rather than where it is convenient to put a box.
Why the building gets closed first
Removal on its own is a pause. The house that let one rat in is still letting the next one in, and around here the way in is very often the crawl space: an open or failed vent, a gap along the pier line, a skirt that has come away, or a plumbing penetration up through the floor.
So the entry points are sealed before the trapping starts. That stops new rats arriving while we trap and monitor the ones still inside, so the trapping is working down a fixed number rather than keeping pace with a steady supply. Rodent proofing is where the sealing is covered, and infestation sanitization deals with the droppings, nesting material and fouled insulation left behind once the space is clear.
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Straight answers
- Free Phone Estimate, written price before work starts
- No poison, trapping and the Rat Vac system
- 100% money-back guarantee
- Family owned since 1982
Related
The rest of the work
Rodent Control
The whole rodent job in one place: finding how rats or mice are getting in, closing it, taking out what is already inside and cleaning up after. Four parts, one repair.
Read more →Rodent Proofing
Closing the building so nothing gets back in. Every gap a rodent can use is sealed in material it cannot chew, which in a Lowcountry house means starting at the crawl space.
Read more →Crawl Space Encapsulation
Sealing the crawl space off from the ground and the outside air. In a climate this humid it is the repair that stops the mold, the sagging floors and the rodents at the same time.
Read more →Crawl Space Remediation
Clearing out what a wet crawl space has already done: fallen insulation, rot, standing water and contamination. This is the cleanup that has to happen before anything gets sealed.
Read more →Vapor Barrier Installation
A sealed liner over the crawl space floor. Bare soil in the Lowcountry gives off moisture continuously, and that moisture has nowhere to go but up into your house.
Read more →Mold Remediation
Removing the growth, and then removing the reason it grew. Mold is a symptom of a water problem, so cleaning it without fixing the moisture just resets the clock.
Read more →Insulation Replacement
Wet insulation does not insulate, and rodent-fouled insulation is a contamination problem. Both come out, and both get replaced once the cause is fixed.
Read more →Infestation Sanitization & Remediation
What an infestation leaves behind is its own job. Droppings, nesting material and soaked insulation come out, and the space is disinfected rather than just cleared.
Read more →Vehicle Rodent Removal
Rats and mice nest in engine compartments, chew wiring and leave droppings and odor behind. A four-step process to clean it up, treat the vulnerable parts and discourage the next one.
Read more →We handle rat removal across the Charleston Lowcountry, see every area we serve, or start from rodent control in Charleston.
FAQ
Rat Removal: common questions
How long until they are gone?
Trapping usually runs over several days rather than a single visit, because rats avoid anything new in a familiar space for a while and because we would rather confirm the space is clear than assume it. Most homeowners stop hearing activity within the first week or two. The entry points are already sealed by then, so nothing new is coming in while we work.
Will a dead rat smell?
Not from our work, and that is the point of trapping rather than baiting. Everything we catch is removed from the house. The smell people describe usually comes from a poisoned rat that died inside a wall or a ceiling where nobody can get to it.
Do you have to come back every month?
No. This is a repair to your house, not a subscription. Once the rats are out and the building is sealed, the job is finished and it carries a 100% money-back guarantee. If you are being quoted a monthly fee, ask what is being repaired for it.
Do I need to leave the house?
No. Nothing we use is a fumigant and there is no poison going into the structure, so you and your pets stay put. The crawl space and attic are where the work happens.
Hearing Scratching in Your Attic, Walls or Ceiling?
Get a free phone estimate and straight answers about what could be happening inside your home. Family owned since 1982.