Rat Removal in Central Florida

Roof rats are the dominant rat species in Florida โ€” they climb power lines, palms, and oak canopies into your attic where they shred insulation, gnaw wiring, and contaminate the space. We never use poison in living spaces (creates dead rats in walls). Inspection, trapping, full structural exclusion, and decontamination.

โœ“ FWC Licensedโœ“ Same-Day Serviceโœ“ Humane Methodsโœ“ Warrantied Repairs

FWC

Licensed Trapper

24/7

Emergency Dispatch

500+

Florida Homes Served

100%

Repair Warranty

Why Poison Bait Stations Make Rat Problems Worse

Hardware stores sell anti-coagulant poison bait stations as the easy answer to rats. Almost every pest control company also leans on poison because it’s cheap and looks like action. Here’s why we don’t โ€” and why you shouldn’t want a company that does:

  • Dead rats in walls. Poison takes 4โ€“10 days to kill. Rats often crawl into wall voids or attic insulation to die. The smell takes 2โ€“3 weeks to fade and you may never reach the body.
  • Pet and family risk. A dose that kills a rat can seriously harm a small dog or cat that eats a poisoned rodent. Kids find dropped bait. Hawks and owls die from eating poisoned rats โ€” secondary toxicity is well-documented.
  • It doesn’t fix the entry. Even when poison “works,” new rats follow the same scent trails into the same gaps. The problem repeats every six months.

Our process: snap traps and electronic kill traps in the active areas, complete structural exclusion (every gap, weep hole, pipe penetration sealed with hardware cloth and metal flashing), and full attic decontamination where droppings and urine are present. Trap checks for 7โ€“14 days, then a final inspection to confirm exclusion held.

FWC Licensed

Florida Fish & Wildlife certified.

Same-Day Service

Most calls scheduled within 24 hours.

Humane Methods

No poisons in living spaces.

Roof Rat vs. Norway Rat

  • Roof rat. Slim, agile, dark, tail longer than body. Climbs power lines, palms. Found in attics, soffits, palm fronds. The dominant rat in Florida.
  • Norway rat. Bulkier, brown-gray, thick tail shorter than body. Burrowing rat โ€” sewers, trash areas, garages.

Need Help Right Now?

Call our licensed trappers for fast, humane wildlife removal.

Our Process

  1. Inspection. Identify entry points (a rat fits through a quarter-sized hole).
  2. Trapping. Snap traps, live traps. No poison in living spaces.
  3. Exclusion. Hardware cloth, copper mesh, metal flashing.
  4. Decontamination. Contaminated insulation removed.
  5. Follow-up. 7โ€“14 day trap checks.

Why DIY Rat Treatment Often Fails

Snap traps from the hardware store work for one mouse in a kitchen. They don’t solve a structural rat problem because: you trap inside while rats come from outside; entry points stay unsealed; poison creates dead rats in walls; you miss the food source.

Rat Identification Guides

Not sure what you have? These three guides help you identify rat activity before you call. Photos, descriptions, and what to do next.

How to identify rat droppings โ€” size, shape, color, location patterns. With photos.

Track size, toe count, gait pattern, and where to look around your property.

What rat activity sounds like โ€” when you hear it, what to listen for.

What Customers Say

Real reviews from Central Florida homeowners we’ve helped.

Heard scratching above our bedroom for two weeks. Two other companies wanted to spray pesticide and call it done. Central Florida Trapper actually went into the attic, found the roof rat entry, sealed it, and replaced the contaminated insulation.

โ€” Sandra R.

Lake Mary, FL

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A raccoon tore through our soffit and was raising kits. They located the babies, reunited them with mom outside, sealed everything, cleaned the attic. Done in three days. Insurance paid most because the paperwork was so thorough.

โ€” Mike D.

Apopka, FL

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Same-day for a snake on our pool deck. Turned out to be a non-venomous black racer, but they explained the difference, removed it safely, and didn’t charge us a panic fee. Will absolutely call again.

โ€” Patricia L.

Orlando, FL

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Frequently Asked Questions

Four reasons: dead rats in walls (smell takes weeks), pet and family risk from secondary toxicity, wildlife kills (hawks/owls die from eating poisoned rats), and it doesn’t fix the entry point.

Roof rats are slim, dark, with tail longer than body. Found in attics and palms. Norway rats are bulkier, brown-gray, with shorter thick tail. Found in sewers and at ground level. Roof rats are dominant in Florida.

Active trapping: 7โ€“14 days. Exclusion (sealing every entry point): 1โ€“3 days. Decontamination of insulation: depends on attic size. Total project: typically 2โ€“4 weeks.

Not if exclusion is done right. We use galvanized hardware cloth, copper mesh, metal flashing, and structural foam at every gap. Sealed entries are warrantied โ€” if a seal fails, we come back at no charge.

Related Services

Replace urine-soaked, droppings-contaminated insulation.

Seal every roof line gap rats use to enter.

Smaller cousin โ€” different approach, same end result.

Need Help Right Now?

Call our licensed trappers for fast, humane wildlife removal.