Rodent Exclusion for Apartment Buildings in Los Angeles

Most entries are small, structural and easy to miss from the ground. UC IPM notes that rats can squeeze under a door with a 1/2-inch gap, and house mice under gaps 1/4 inch tall or through openings 3/8 inch wide. The usual places to check on a multifamily property:

• Pipes, cables and wires where they pass through walls or the foundation.
• Foundation and attic vents, and rooftop vent pipes wider than 2 inches.
• Gaps under exterior, garage, trash-room and utility-room doors.
• Foundation cracks, and burrows along slabs and foundations.
• Roof lines reached by climbing plants, such as ivy, and by overhanging tree limbs.

Roof rats climb, so openings above ground level matter as much as those at grade. Norway rats mostly burrow near foundations. Our guide to roof rats vs. Norway rats explains how to tell which one you have.

Permanent exclusion uses metal or concrete. UC IPM recommends 16-gauge, 1/2-inch galvanized wire cloth for vent covers and warns against chicken wire, whose openings rats pass through. It also notes that rats chew through plastic, foam, wood and caulk, so foam alone is not exclusion.

For mice, UC IPM lists wire screen or coarse steel wool as temporary plugs only, since steel wool rusts. Door sweeps and weather stripping close the gap under doors. Sheet metal on door edges helps where rodents are gnawing.

Sealing a building does little if the trash enclosure keeps feeding a colony next to it. California Civil Code §1941.1 expects areas under the landlord's control to be clean and free of rodents and vermin. It also requires enough garbage receptacles, kept clean and in good repair.

UC IPM recommends tight-fitting covers on every receptacle, frequent collection of garbage and garden debris, and removing fallen fruit and nuts. It also advises keeping shrubs away from buildings and thinning ivy. Those are maintenance-team tasks, so list them in the work order next to the exclusion repairs.

Some entry points are inside units: under sinks, behind appliances and where plumbing enters a wall. Entering to make necessary repairs is a permitted purpose under Civil Code §1954, with reasonable written notice. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable.

Ask tenants to report droppings, gnaw marks and noises in writing, with the unit and location. PesPro's team is bilingual in English and Spanish, and we supply tenant-notification templates for scheduled visits. Our guide to what attracts rats is a useful handout for residents.

PesPro's primary rodent service is the Rodent Control subscription: trapping, monitoring and prevention. Rodent Exclusion is added when the structure itself needs sealing, or sold standalone for buildings that need whole-structure protection. Every visit is recorded in a digital service log your board or inspectors can open 24/7.

Every quote is a free written quote issued before work starts, and multi-unit programs use per-door rates that decrease with building size. Under our guarantee, if rodents reappear within 30 days, the third visit is included at no extra cost. The LA County rodent control page covers service across the county.