Rodent Exclusion Services

Keeping Rodents Out Of Your Home or Business for Good

Trapping rodents is only half the job. If you don’t seal the entry points they’re using to get in, new ones will follow. That’s what rodent exclusion is — the process of finding every gap, crack, and opening rodents are using and closing them off permanently so the problem doesn’t keep coming back.

At Del Valle Pest Control, we don’t just set traps and leave. We inspect your property, identify how rodents are getting in, seal those entry points, and monitor the situation to make sure it stays resolved. It’s a more complete approach, and it’s the one that actually works long term.

Why Rodents Are More Than Just A Nuisance

Rodents cause two categories of problems: structural damage and health risks. Both are serious.
Health risks associated with rodents include:

• Salmonella and other foodborne illnesses spread through droppings and urine contaminating food preparation surfaces
• Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread through contact with rodent urine
• Hantavirus, which can be contracted by breathing in dust contaminated with rodent droppings or urine
• Murine typhus, spread by fleas that have fed on infected rodents — a real concern in South Texas
• Rat-bite fever, transmitted through bites or contact with rodent saliva

Structural damage caused by rodents includes:

• Gnawing through electrical wiring, which is a leading cause of house wires
• Damaging insulation in attics and wall voids
• Chewing through PVC plumbing pipes
• Contaminating insulation with droppings and urine to the point where it needs to be replaced

Rodents also reproduce quickly. A single pair of house mice can produce dozens of offspring in a matter of months under the right conditions. The longer a problem goes unaddressed, the more difficult and costly it becomes to resolve.

Common Rodents We Deal With in the Rio Grande Valley

House mice are the most common indoor rodent problem. They can squeeze through an opening as small as a dime, which makes them difficult to keep out without a thorough exclusion inspection. They tend to nest in wall voids, attics, and behind appliances.
Roof rats are common in South Texas and are strong climbers. They typically enter structures from above — through rooflines, soffits, gaps around utility lines, and damaged vents. They often nest in attics.
Norway rats are larger and tend to burrow. They typically enter at ground level through foundation gaps, drain lines, and utility penetrations.
Identifying which species you’re dealing with matters because they use different entry points and require different control strategies.

What Rodent Exclusion Actually Involves

Exclusion is a process, not a single visit. Here’s how we approach it.

Step 1 — Thorough Inspection
Before we seal anything, we inspect the entire structure to understand what we’re working with. This includes:

Exterior inspection:

• Foundation gaps and cracks
• Utility penetrations (where pipes, conduit, and cables enter the building)
• Roofline, soffits, and fascia
• Vents and vent screens
• Gaps around doors and garage doors
• Landscaping and vegetation touching the structure
• Dumpster areas and exterior clutter where rodents harbor

Interior inspection:

• Attic for droppings, rub marks, nesting material, and active runways
• Garage and utility rooms
• Crawl spaces if present
• Kitchen and pantry areas

We look for droppings, rub marks (greasy smears along walls where rodents travel), gnaw marks, and nesting material. These signs tell us which species is present, how active the infestation is, and where they’re moving inside the structure.

Step 2 — Trapping
We start trapping before we seal entry points. This is intentional — sealing rodents inside a structure creates a worse problem, including odor from rodents dying in inaccessible areas. We use snap traps and multi-catch traps placed along active runways in the attic, garage, utility rooms, and along walls.

We do not rely on poison bait stations indoors as a primary method. When a rodent ingests rodenticide and dies inside a wall or attic, the decomposition smell can be severe and difficult to locate. Trapping is cleaner and more controllable.

Step 3 — Sealing Entry Points
Once trapping activity indicates the population inside is under control, we seal the entry points. Common materials and methods include:

• Steel wood and hardware cloth for gaps around pipes and utility penetrations — rodents cannot chew through these
• Galvanized metal flashing for larger gaps along rooflines and soffits
• Concrete or mortar for foundation cracks and gaps at ground level
• Caulk or foam for smaller interior gaps, though exterior gaps require more durable materials
• Vent covers and screens for attic and crawl space vents that are damaged or missing

The goal is to physically prevent re-entry, not just deter it. Rodents are persistent — if there’s a gap they can fit through, they will eventually use it.

Step 4 — Follow-Up Visits
We include a minimum of three follow-up visits after the initial service. During each visit we:

• Check and reset traps
• Removed captured rodents
• Monitor for any new activity
• Identify any additional entry points that may have been missed
• Recommend any further repairs if needed

Exterior Bait Stations

For properties where rodents are active outside — around the perimeter, near dumpsters, in landscaping, or along fence lines — we install tamper-resistant exterior bait stations. These are locked, anchored, and checked regularly. They’re especially useful for commercial properties and for keeping exterior rodent pressure from building up around the structure.

Rodent Exclusion for Commercial Properties

Commercial rodent problems carry additional risks including health code violations, failed inspections, and reputational damage. Restaurants, warehouses, food processing facilities, schools, and retail stores all have different risk profiles and entry points. Restaurants, warehouses, food processing facilities, schools, and retail stores all have different risk profiles and entry points.

Our commercial rodent services include:

• Full site mapping of the property
• Installation and regular monitoring of exterior bait stations
• Interior monitoring with snap traps and glue boards where appropriate
• Loading dock and dumpster area inspections, which are among the most common entry points in commercial buildings
• Documentation and service reports for compliance purposes
• Trend analysis across visits to identify recurring problem areas

Serving the Rio Grande Valley and All of Texas

We provide exclusion and control services throughout the RGV including McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, Pharr, Harlingen, Brownsville, and surrounding communities, as well as across Texas including Laredo, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas.
Our technicians are licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture and we carry general liability insurance and worker’s compensation coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Schedule a Free Inspection

If you’re hearing noises, finding droppings, or have seen a rodent in or around your home or business, don’t wait. The earlier we can get out there, the easier and less costly the solution tends to be.