Rodent Control in Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and Terrell Hills

Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and Terrell Hills are three separate little cities wrapped inside San Antonio, just north of Brackenridge Park and Fort Sam Houston. Alamo Heights incorporated in 1922. Olmos Park was laid out in the 1920s with big estates on oak-lined streets. Terrell Hills started selling lots in 1919 and became a city in 1939.

What they share, from a rodent point of view, is age and shade. Many homes here go back decades, some to the 1920s, with wood soffits, gable vents and attic spaces that have been patched a few times. The trees are huge and many of them hang right over the roof. That's an easy road for roof rats.

Old Rooflines and Big Limbs

Most calls from these streets start in the attic. The rat comes up a trunk or along a power line, crosses to the roof and finds a gap where an addition meets the original house or where old wood trim has pulled away. Some of the older homes have had two or three additions over the decades, and every seam between old and new is a spot to check.

Ask the tech to look hard at the roof-to-wall joints, the soffit returns and any vent that's been painted over and cracked. Sealing those gaps with metal is what stops the cycle. Trimming limbs back from the roof helps too, and many of these lots have a lot of limbs.

• Gable vents with old or torn screen
• Joints where additions meet the original roof
• Detached garages and garage apartments with open eaves
• Ivy on brick walls leading up to the soffit

Olmos Basin and the Creek Side

Homes on the west side of Olmos Park and along the edge of the Olmos Basin back onto open green space and the creek. That's good cover for rats and mice. Norway rats will burrow along the creek side and come up toward compost piles and bird feeders. If you see holes along the foundation or under a shed, read up on Norway rats.

Before You Buy or Remodel

If you're buying an older home here, or opening up an attic for a remodel, it's a good time to have someone look for droppings and entry points. An inspection costs less than tearing out new drywall later. If the old insulation is full of droppings, swap it out during the remodel with attic cleanup.

Landmarks and streets: Broadway · Olmos Basin · University of the Incarnate Word · McCullough Ave. · Fort Sam Houston · Olmos Dam (ZIP 78209, 78212)

Other parts of town: Stone Oak, Timberwood Park, Leon Valley, Castle Hills and Shavano Park, Medical Center, Windcrest, Live Oak and Universal City, Leon Springs and Fair Oaks Ranch, Beacon Hill and Five Points, South Side and the Missions.