Rodent Control in Mesa, Arizona

Mesa's rat calls usually come back to citrus. The city has deep citrus roots, and older yards still have big orange and grapefruit trees. The City of Mesa lists hollowed-out citrus, rats on power lines and trees, noise in the attic and walls, and agitated pets as roof rat signs, and points residents to Maricopa County Vector Control to report activity.

Mesa also makes the point that roof rats don't mean a neighborhood is going downhill. They often ride in on moving boxes and settle wherever there's food, water and shelter. A spotless house on a nice street can still have them if the grapefruit tree out back is loaded.

Alleys and detached garages near downtown

Homes around Downtown Mesa and the historic districts nearby are older, with mature shade trees, alleys and detached garages. Those garages and sheds are often where rats settle first. Older roof vents and wood trim give them more ways in, and the alleys behind many of these homes hold trash bins, junk and overgrown hedges that give them cover between yards.

Most calls start with roof rat removal. Older homes downtown often need sealing too, and roof rat jobs here tend to end with attic cleanup. Next door, Tempe's older neighborhoods deal with the same rats and the same trees.

• Check detached garages and sheds first
• Close up gaps around old vents and trim
• Keep alley-side bins closed

Old grove rows on the east side

Mesa is big and spread out. The Salt River runs along the north side, and the land climbs slowly east toward Red Mountain and the Usery Mountains. East Mesa has bigger lots, and many still hold rows of citrus from the groves that once covered this part of the Valley. Rats move down those rows the same way they move along block walls in town. Those lots often add a yard plan for the citrus, and the Valley citrus season plan is worth reading before fall.

Newer subdivisions on the east and southeast edges sit closer to open desert, so that's where pack rats near the Usery Mountains come in. Tell us which part of Mesa you're in when you call. It changes what the tech looks for first. A house off Main St. near Country Club Dr. and a new build out past Usery Mountain Regional Park are two very different jobs, even though they're both Mesa.

Around Mesa: Downtown Mesa · Dobson Ranch · Red Mountain Park · Usery Mountain Regional Park · Main St. and Country Club Dr. · Riverview Park (ZIP 85201, 85203, 85204, 85205, 85206, 85213, 85215)

Also serving Arcadia, Ahwatukee Foothills, North Central & Sunnyslope, Encanto & Willo, Maryvale, Paradise Valley Village & Desert Ridge, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale.