[Djean1981]

It seems like the villages are "targeted" by contractors.. I wonder what a quote would be if your house was in Leesburg. .
I can't imagine what $2,500 covers. Entry holes need to be screened or sealed, and the rats need to be trapped and removed. (If the rats are simply poisoned, they could crawl somewhere inaccessible to die which results in a horrid odor...). Obviously, make sure palm trees or any other path up to the roof is removed..

[yporter]

Originally Posted by billethkid

After hearing some thumping around in the garage attic space we had Massey come out and do an inspection.

Two rats found in the garage attic storage area and other evidence of presence in other attic areas.

Massey has a program to remove, clean, sanitize, seal all possible external access points then monitor weekly until no presence detected.

$2500 ......

Any experience or suggestions appreciated.
Rule out any do it yourself proposals as mobility is a limitation.
Thanks.

While I know that *everything* in TV tends to the expensive side, we had a much difference experience in SW Ohio while at our summer house. We returned to scrabbling noise in the bedroom wall at 3 am, and called a local 'wildlife wrangler' for a quote. He came promptly (that afternoon), did a free walkthrough to identify probable invader (heat signatures too small for racoons/possums, etc), visual exam of attic area (looks like mouse, but not a communal type probably deer mouse, which it was - Peromyscus), exterior exam to try and figure out how, which turned out to be either the ridge vents on the roof. There were no chewed soffits or obvious/visible holes. His treatment plan was exterior bait boxes, and baited traps with motion cameras in the attic. This was $250, which was an 'incident' price which covered his trips to rebait traps and remove corpses until the incursion was over. It took a little over a month, and he made 4 or 5 total trips including the last one to remove his equipment. During the time, we did get a roofer out to replace the ridge vents with larger ones that had a good barrier mesh to prevent side entry and replace caulking around all the pipes and vents on the roof, trying to eliminate their entry points. We also were awakened several times by snapping traps in the attic, and our wildlife wrangler texted us the pics the next mornings (and came by to remove the corpses, total body count of 2 for the entire episode). We thought it was an amazingly cheap price, given our panic and sleeplessness from the overnight visitors! But I did purposefully call wildlife wranglers instead of 'pest removal' companies, since the Masseys/Terminex of the world are much more ongoing services oriented than wildlife removal contractors. It's been several months, and no repeat incursions.

[Justputt]

If you see two there are likely more. d-CON for the rats will fix the problem with the current residents unless they have a relative that's a lawyer and claim squatter rights... Seriously, d-Con is part bait and part poison that will cause them to bleed internally until dead and keep drawing the sick back for more because of the bait component. Periodically check the d-Con baits to see if they're being eaten, if not touched you're in good shape. Replace d-Con per manufacturers recommendation. But you need to ID the reason they're there. What are you storing in the attic area? A rat can flatten itself to squeeze through some pretty small spaces. If you have PC walls, then they're coming in under/around the garage door or around the soffit. If you have dogs/cats/birds and keep food in your garage, you're baiting them in yourself. Don't keep any food (human or otherwise) in the garage unless its food you keep in a freezer. If you have block walls, that have weepholes, use 000 steel wool to fill the weepholes so they'll still work as intended but not allow things to enter. If you have a framed house, e.g. vinyl siding, look for any sign something has eaten through the sheathing along any edge. If you live along any wild areas (grassy, bushy, preserve) they could be just after shelter. If you have palm tree rats, you'll continue to battle them as long as you have the palms. "Palm trees are a popular landscaping feature in many homes and businesses, but they can also be a haven for rats. Rats are attracted to palm trees because they provide shelter and food." Rats can damage palm trees by chewing on the leaves, bark, and roots. They can also spread diseases to humans and pets. Look for droppings chewed leaves or bark, or nests around the tree.

[genobambino]

Squirrels are also a big problem with getting in the attic. They will climb your lani screen and bang their head on the soffit until they knock it loose and then get up in the attic. Squirrels are just a rat with fuzzy tail. Ask me how I know about this.

[Obrez]

$2500 ......

Seems very high price, had them in Orlando paid 1,000; Traps, blocked any access points, came out every week.

[easeonby]

Originally Posted by billethkid

After hearing some thumping around in the garage attic space we had Massey come out and do an inspection.

Two rats found in the garage attic storage area and other evidence of presence in other attic areas.

Massey has a program to remove, clean, sanitize, seal all possible external access points then monitor weekly until no presence detected.

$2500 ......

Any experience or suggestions appreciated.
Rule out any do it yourself proposals as mobility is a limitation.
Thanks.

Do not use Massey, they are a terrible overpriced company for everything. Buy a couple big
rat traps and put them in your attic. Peanut butter works good to catch rats.

[Bonchris]

I had massy do this and they charged me $4000
What the heck. It’s gone down $1500. A year later the squirrels were back in the attic. They chew thru the soffits

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by MarcStephen

$2500? Gosh Massey is overcharging you! What model home do you have?

I would guess Buckingham Palace at that price.

[tophcfa]

I suggest the plank of rodent death. Take a 5 gallon bucket, put about 1 1/2 gallons of water in it, throw a handful of sunflower seeds into the water, smear some peanut butter around the inside of the bucket, and lean a piece of wood between the floor and the top of the bucket. Rodents, be it rats, mice, chipmunks, etc… walk the plank and can’t resist going into the bucket to get the bait, where they quickly drown in the water. Works every time and won’t cost you hardly anything. Up north, people use antifreeze instead of water during the cold winter months since the rodents won’t drown on ice. Best of luck.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by easeonby

Do not use Massey, they are a terrible overpriced company for everything. Buy a couple big
rat traps and put them in your attic. Peanut butter works good to catch rats.

Not true. Massey may be overpriced for this rat problem, but they are definitely not overpriced for most of the work they do. They were the least expensive company for irrigation maintenance and lawn mowing that I could find.

[Dlstravels]

Put a couple of traps over garage with peanut butter they will come to you.

[mrf6969]

Originally Posted by billethkid

After hearing some thumping around in the garage attic space we had Massey come out and do an inspection.

Two rats found in the garage attic storage area and other evidence of presence in other attic areas.

Massey has a program to remove, clean, sanitize, seal all possible external access points then monitor weekly until no presence detected.

$2500 ......

Any experience or suggestions appreciated.
Rule out any do it yourself proposals as mobility is a limitation.
Thanks.

Massy must have changed their program on rodents. We had 2 rats in our attack. Massey came out with very large glue boards. The tech put PeanutButter on them. Within one day the rats were stuck on the board and the Massey tech came right out and removed them. Job done. We only had the bug and lawn contract at the time. We had a handyman fix the soffit opening.

[Kathryn Putt]

That's the same for raccoons in attic. Massey did a through job.

[hvac877]

A few years ago I was doing an hvac inspection at a home in The Villages and when I was changing the air filter I noticed loose insulation stuck in the filter. The insulation came from the flexible air ducts in the attic. I thought a duct had become disconnected causing it to get sucked back to the air conditioner return. I asked the customer if they were having any construction in the house being done because I found the insulation in the retun air filter. She said no there are rats in the attic well they ate through the flex ducts and now had access to every room in the house. She had an exterminator go in and they had caught 9 at the time. I told her all the ducts would need to be removed as the rats urinate and poop continously and the duct had become a main highway system in the attic. I finished what I had to do and she requested a quote to replace the ducts which was a little over $3000.00 dollars. It wasn't advisable to replace the duct untill the rats were eliminated. 6 months later I returned for the next inspection and the owner told me they had the rats eliminated and all new duct work installed and the total rats caught 23 in total. Next door neighbor had a small flower garden pool and a bird feeder and would not have it removed it was a good breeding ground for RATS!!!

Originally Posted by billethkid

After hearing some thumping around in the garage attic space we had Massey come out and do an inspection.

Two rats found in the garage attic storage area and other evidence of presence in other attic areas.

Massey has a program to remove, clean, sanitize, seal all possible external access points then monitor weekly until no presence detected.

$2500 ......

Any experience or suggestions appreciated.
Rule out any do it yourself proposals as mobility is a limitation.
Thanks.