Rat Control in Indianapolis

The rat in Indianapolis is the Norway rat. It's big, brown and heavy, with small ears and a tail shorter than its body. It digs. Burrows show up along the foundation, under garage slabs and sheds, beside the alley fence and under decks.

Rats go where food and cover are easy. In Indy that usually means an alley. A 2019 WISH-TV story on rats in Marion County described alleys with open trash cans, old furniture, tall weeds and empty houses, which together give rats everything they need. Neighborhoods with alleys behind the houses, like much of the near east side and the older blocks around Fountain Square, hear about rats more than the suburbs do.

How to Know It's Rats

Mouse droppings are small. Rat droppings are closer to the size of a raisin, with blunt ends. Look for these too:

• Round holes two to four inches across along the foundation, slab or fence
• Smooth, packed paths through the grass between the alley and the garage
• Greasy rub marks along the bottom of a garage wall
• Gnawed holes in the bottom of a wooden garage door or a trash cart
• Heavier thumping in the garage or basement at night

Garages, Alleys and Trash Carts

Detached garages on alleys are the classic setup. The rats live under the slab or in the clutter inside, and they eat out of the trash. Keep the cart lid shut, don't set bags beside it, and clean up spilled bird seed and pet food. Our guide to rats, alleys and trash carts goes through the yard and alley side, plus how the county's program works.

Inside the house, Norway rats usually come in low, through a basement window, a gap at the sill, a floor drain or an open crawl space vent. A tech checks those and seals them as part of rodent exclusion.

How a Rat Job Usually Goes

Expect the tech to find the burrows and the runways first. Traps go along the runs, and any bait goes in locked, tamper-resistant stations that are anchored down outside. They'll come back to check burrows and collapse the ones that go quiet. Then the gaps get closed, so the next rats from the alley can't move right back in.

Restaurants and other businesses with dumpsters should look at commercial rodent control for a regular schedule.

Related services: Entry Point Sealing, Commercial Rodent Control, Rodent Inspection

Covering Broad Ripple, Irvington, Fountain Square, Lawrence, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Zionsville, Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, Greenwood.