Rodent Control in Monte Vista
Monte Vista is the historic district just north of downtown, roughly between San Pedro Avenue and McCullough Avenue, with San Antonio College on its southern edge and Trinity University up the hill. The houses went up mostly in the early 1900s, when the city's well-off families moved north. You see two-story Victorian, Tudor, Prairie and Spanish revival homes on streets like Kings Highway, Belknap Place and West Summit.
Big old houses mean big old attics, and lots of them. Add mature pecans and live oaks over the roofs, and Monte Vista gets a steady stream of roof rat calls.
Attics, porches and carriage houses
Many Monte Vista homes have several roof planes, dormers, deep porches and wood soffits that have been repainted for a century. Every one of those joints can open up a little as wood shrinks and swells. Rats find them. The detached carriage houses and garage apartments behind many lots are often in rougher shape than the main house, and rodents settle there first.
Plenty of these homes also sit on piers. A crawl space with loose skirting lets Norway rats and mice live right under the floor. Our crawl space page covers that side.
- Dormers and roof-to-wall joints on two-story homes
- Open rafter tails and old soffit vents
- Carriage houses and garage apartments out back
- Crawl space skirting on pier-and-beam houses
Working on a historic house
Exterior changes in a historic district can need city review, so ask the technician to use repairs that don't change how the house looks from the street, like mesh behind existing vents and painted flashing. If you're planning a bigger exterior project, check with the city's historic preservation office first. Inside the house, mesh and sealant around pipes and in the attic don't change anything the street can see.
Landmarks and streets: San Pedro Ave. · McCullough Ave. · Kings Hwy. · Hildebrand Ave. · San Antonio College · Trinity University (ZIP 78212)
Questions from this part of town
Do rodent repairs on a historic home need approval?
Small repairs that don't change the look of the house usually don't, but rules apply in historic districts. Check with the city's Office of Historic Preservation if you're unsure.
Why do I hear rats over the porch?
Porch roofs on older homes often connect to the main attic through gaps at the wall. Rats use them as a hallway.
Is the carriage house worth sealing too?
Yes. An open outbuilding keeps feeding rodents to the main house. Seal both, or the work on the house won't last.
Other parts of town: Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and Terrell Hills, 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, King William and Southtown, Tobin Hill and the Pearl, Dignowity Hill and the East Side, Woodlawn Lake and Jefferson, Helotes, Alamo Ranch, Schertz and Cibolo, Boerne, New Braunfels.