Need any input you all have! We moved to a new house near a creek. One of the things we like, but more critters of course. We noticed traps near the house so when I had terminix come out to spray I also requested a rodent assessment. We have a walk in attic and I heard scurrying, saw the tunnel and lots of rodent droppings. Safe to say there are rodents in our attic. We definitely need the house sealed up, but Terminix wants to remove all the insulation, sanitize the attic, and reinsulate - all to the tune of $14,000 (plus cost of sealing up entry ways - $1600) Yikes!! I called another company that says that's crazy, he'll put out poison that will cause rodents to leave attic and then he'll seal up house all for $595 with 2 year warranty. So clearly this is a big difference. Note - we have never seen a rodent in the house or any evidence of them - just in the attic.
The difference in approaches seems to be Terminix says the droppings in the insulation can harm my family and must be removed; the other guy says he's been in the business 35 years and that droppings aren't toxic once they dry up.
Our family does not go into the attic ever....we just direct repair people there... who do not seem concerned.
I don't want to put my family at risk for health issues but I don't want to break into my kids college fund either. Any input??
I wouldn't use Terminex to do contracting work if they are a pest control company. We used a local company, not a big chain, when we had squirrels in the attic. They poisoned, trapped, and sealed off the entrance (which really meant putting screen up inside of a grate). It was about $900.
Close up the holes and places where the squirrels or whatever is getting in.
Put the traps and poison out.
Once your critter problem has been eliminated, you can check for structural/insulation damage.
You do not need to pay that kind of cash to anyone...
LBC
We had rats in our attic and had them removed, then sealed up the entry points. We had a good local eradication company do the work, and they never mentioned anything about re-doing the insulation.
That Terminix price sounds really high. I'd definitely get some other estimates and recommendations about what to do.
ish. we don't do poison, but if you don't want to seal up the house yourself (i wouldn't, but my husband is handy so he takes care of all that stuff), i'd go with the lower priced company. if you guys were handling the droppings or they were in your air conditioning ducts i might consider stripping and sanitizing, but really, some dried out old turds in the insulation that you never see or handle ain't likely to harm you.
the advantage of traps (not glue traps!) over poison is that you can negotiate with your contractor to come back periodically and remove them (and add more traps if there are still signs of rodents). poisoned animals can die in your attic and walls and be incredibly fragrant for quite some time. if you're lucky enough that they leave before they die, they get eaten and poison a wild predator who is probably necessary for the environmental balance. or worse, your neighbor's dog.
but i'd certainly pass on terminix's big price tag.
khairete
S.
Don't go with Terminix. Find a highly rated local company who knows the area.
We live not far from the river and a few years back our neighborhood had a rat infestation. We put traps and poison in the basement which got rid of the rats. Then we sealed up the basement by closing up the air vents in the foundation. The droppings are still in parts of the basement and have not been a problem. We're healthy.
I don't know why the droppings would be toxic. It's just poop. It dries up and emits no vapors. If you want you can go up to the attic and sweep them up if there are boards or a floor or if the insulation is covered with paper. I see no need to sanitize. I would wear a mask because the attic also contains lots of dust and pollen. I would guess that the dust and pollen which is moved around with the air to be more of a concern. Once the poop is dry it is heavy and will not circulate in the air.
Rats can do structural damage. And if they continue to have access their poop would build up over time and may mold I would look at air vents and be sure that they're screened. Easy to do yourself and wouldn't cost much at all.
If you do decide to change insulation, etc. I agree with Momwithcamera. I suggest that having a contractor do the job would be less expensive.
Any company that quotes you an outrageous cost as the first step of fixing a problem is a huge red flag. Your instincts are correct. Maybe call a 3rd local company and ask the question about the toxicity of droppings to get another opinion. Good luck!
Why don't you let the exterminator do his work and a contractor do theirs. I have two little black traps outside my house that my bug guy put out and I have never had issues with rats, knock on wood. I was also told they will leave and I have never seen one here.
Call around and ask how much it would be to re-insulate your x by y sized attic. At the same time, check to see if there are any rebates through your gas or electric company for updated insulation and as well hold on to your receipts in case there are write offs on your tax return.
I didn't know Terminix did insulation.
My first question is what type of rodent are we talking about? We had an issue with squirrels that got into our attic (in a rental home). We put up with the noise for a while but then they started to come through to the ceiling with their scratching. I called a "critter company" I have not idea what the company name was. The company came out accessed where the squirrels were coming in, we paid to have that entry sealed and then he left traps for the squirrels. We caught about 4 squirrels, each at different times. The company came back each time, removed the full trap and left an empty one. All told we spent about $500 and problem was solved. No more squirrels. I have never heard anything about Toxic droppings. I say call a critter control company and get a third opinion.
They will place giant sticky traps up there, and then plug up the holes.
They will come back and take the traps and you should be fine..
I cannot imagine replacing all of the insulation.. that is just crazy..
Know what I'd do?
Set traps, seal the tunnels and entry points with spray foam, and vacuum up all the droppings and nesting material with my shop vac while wearing a M95 face mask.
I'd also use a furnace/AC filter that filters out microbes...a good Filtrete filter.
I'd spray for house bugs using a barrier spray, and put ORTHO MAX on the yard.
All of that would probably cost me about $100 at the most.
We had bats and mice in the attic (weird; thought one would take care of the other! LOL) and we just dont go in there. We did set out mouse traps, and the bats are seasonal, so, we just figured, whatever. They aren't in the house anywhere else.
I would NOT, under any circumstances, spend over $1000 to get rid of any rodent.
I think Terminix is trying to take you for a ride. I'd go with the other guy. His quote sounds reasonable.
Before you pay someone, why don't you try to resolve it yourself? Put out spring traps, with cheese or peanut butter for bait. Be vigilent and remove them quickly, so they don't start to rot.
Please don't use the sticky traps, they are really inhumane.
We recently went thru the same thing. I heard scurrying in my attic and saw droppings. I called a service who stated that we had "Norwegian Roof Rats" YUK! The plan was he laid poison down for us all in the attic after two weeks we went looking for bodies (none found). At that point in time we cleaned up the dropping just by using a shop vac and emptying it in to the garbage. Then we cut down our wisteria that was climbing up the side of the house and closed any access holes. We had recently had a solar roof fan put in that left a nice gap in the roof. Happy to say no new visitors or droppings and it has been 6 months. You can do all this yourself, our service did tell us that once the droppings dried they were not hazardous. Good luck!
