This is the walk-round we do on an inspection, in the order we do it. Most of it needs nothing more than a torch, a tape measure and a ladder you are comfortable on. Items are ordered by impact, so if you stop halfway you will still have done the parts that matter most.
Roofline — highest value
- Eave and rake terminations. Look along the underside of the tile edge. Bird stops or eave risers should close the gap at every tile end. Missing or broken ones are the single most common roof rat entry we find.
- Ridge and hip ends. Mortar and foam closures crack and fall out. A missing end closure is an open door at the highest point of the house.
- Valleys. Check for gaps under cut tiles and clear accumulated debris.
- Penetrations. Every plumbing vent, flue, fan and solar mount. Check flashing boots for UV cracking.
- Roof and gable vents. Screens intact, secured on all edges, mesh fine enough to stop a juvenile.
- Roof-to-wall junctions. Where a lower roof meets an upper wall. Concealed and frequently imperfect.
Trees and landscaping
- Four feet of clearance between any branch and the roof, walls, or another tree that connects onward. Check the whole chain, not just the obvious tree.
- Palms. Old frond skirts are excellent rodent habitat. Have them cleared.
- Fallen citrus picked up weekly through the season.
- Shrubs trimmed back from walls — aim for a clear strip you can walk along.
- Woodpiles moved well away from the structure and raised off the ground.
- Yard clutter — stacked pots, building materials, unused equipment. This is midden staging habitat.
Walls and foundation
- Weep holes fitted with stainless or copper covers. Do not seal them solid — that traps moisture in the wall and causes worse problems than the rodents.
- Block-wall caps intact along the full run. Cracked or missing caps open the hollow cores as a vertical route.
- Utility penetrations — water, gas, electrical, AC line sets, cable. Sealed with mesh plus mortar or appropriate sealant, not foam alone.
- Stucco cracks and erosion pockets, particularly at the base and around openings.
- Hose bibs and irrigation. Fix leaks. Standing water concentrates rodent traffic toward the house.
Doors and openings
- Garage door bottom seal and both corner gaps. A worn seal is a wide-open door — this is one of the most common mouse entries.
- Door sweeps on every exterior door, including the garage-to-house door.
- Pet doors. Consider a locking or electronic type.
- Window screens intact, particularly on windows left open at night.
- Dryer vent flap closing properly, with a rodent-rated cover.
- AC line set penetrations, which are almost always sealed with foam that has failed.
Inside
- Attic check. Torch off on a bright day — daylight through the roof plane shows openings directly. Look for trails, droppings, shredded nesting material and torn duct wrap.
- Under-sink penetrations where pipes enter cabinets.
- Behind appliances — the gap around the fridge and dishwasher plumbing.
- Food storage in sealed hard containers, including pet food. Pet food in a bag in the garage is a reliable attractant.
- Water sources — fix drips, empty pet bowls overnight.
The measurement worth remembering
A house mouse gets through a gap about the width of a pencil — roughly 6 mm. A young roof rat needs about 12 mm. If you can push a pencil into a gap, it is a candidate. That standard makes the walk-round much faster, because you stop debating whether something counts.
What to seal with
Stainless mesh or hardware cloth for anything needing ventilation. Copper mesh packed into irregular voids. Mortar or masonry patch over mesh for structural gaps. Sheet metal at gnaw points. Expanding foam only as a filler behind mesh — never on its own, because rodents chew through it in a few nights.
Not sure what you are dealing with?
A free inspection identifies the species, every entry point and the scope of work — in writing, before anyone quotes you a number.
