Pack Rat Removal on the Edges of San Antonio
Pack rats are woodrats, a native rat that has nothing to do with the rats in the city. They're soft gray-brown with big dark eyes, big ears, a white belly and a tail covered in fur. Most of the time they live out in the brush and never bother anybody. Then a subdivision goes in next to their pasture, and somebody finds a pile of sticks, cactus pads and junk two feet high in the back of the shed.
The Mammals of Texas account from Texas Tech says the southern plains woodrat lives across the western two-thirds of the state. It builds a midden of sticks, cactus joints, thorns and whatever else is handy, often under prickly pear. It eats mostly plants, including prickly pear, mesquite beans and acorns. That describes a lot of the open country on the north and west sides of Bexar County.
Where We Hear About Pack Rats
The calls come from the brushy edges of town, where houses back onto cedar, oak and prickly pear. Think Timberwood Park, the hills north of 1604 in Stone Oak, and the larger lots out toward Leon Springs and Fair Oaks Ranch. Places with sheds, barns, stored trailers or a boat that hasn't moved in a year are the most likely.
Texas Tech's account of the eastern woodrat, a cousin found in the eastern part of the state, notes that woodrats may build their middens in barns and other outbuildings. Around here, that means a storage shed, the space under a raised deck, a pump house, or the engine bay of a truck that sits for a season.
How to Tell You Have One
Pack rats are messy in a way that's hard to miss. Look for:
- A mound of sticks, cactus pieces, leaves and trash in a protected corner
- Odd things carried off: foil, bottle caps, a missing glove
- Chewed wiring or a nest of shredded insulation under the hood of a car that sits
- Droppings in piles near the nest, often with a strong smell
- Gnawed lawn furniture cushions or stored tarps
Noise in the attic tonight? Talk to someone who handles San Antonio rodents.
Call (210) 955-2948
Getting Them Out Without a Mess
A tech will usually trap the woodrat first, then take the nest apart. Nest material can be full of droppings, urine and fleas, so it gets bagged and hauled off, not scattered. After that comes the part that matters: closing the gap under the shed door, adding hardware cloth skirting around the deck, and sealing any hole into the garage. Our rodent exclusion page covers those repairs.
Clearing brush right next to the house helps too. You don't have to scrape the lot bare. Just keep a clear strip between the brush and the walls, and don't stack firewood or old pallets against the shed. Our guide to pack rats on the brushy edges of town has more on that.
Questions From Callers
Are pack rats dangerous?
They're not aggressive, but their nests and droppings are dirty, and they chew wiring. Wear gloves and a mask if you have to move a nest yourself, and wet it down first.
Will they come in the house?
Less often than roof rats or mice. They're more likely to set up in a garage, shed or under a deck. If one gets into an attic, it's usually through an open gap low on the roofline.
We take calls from 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.