How to spot them
Droppings in drawers and under sinks, gnaw marks on food packaging or wiring, scratching in walls and attics at night, and greasy rub marks along baseboards. A musky odor in a closed garage often means they've settled in.
Why they show up in the Central Valley
Harvest season and the first cold snap send rats and mice from fields, orchards, and canal banks into any structure with a gap bigger than a dime. Attics, garages, and outbuildings near open land see the most traffic.
What you can do right now
Seal gaps around pipes and vents with steel wool and hardware cloth, store pet food and birdseed in metal bins, and keep tree limbs trimmed off the roofline — roof rats literally walk aboard.
How Cornerstone handles it
We handle mice and rats as an add-on service: trapping and control matched to your property, folded right into your regular visits. A small sighting rarely stays small, so mention it early and we'll get ahead of it.
Seeing Mice & Rats? Get a free quote.
Serving Modesto, Turlock, Stockton, Merced, and 29 more Central Valley cities. See our full service area › · Residential plans › · Common questions ›