Buggsy Master Rodent Treatment Guide

Covers House Mouse, Deer Mouse, Norway Rat, and Roof Rat. (Voles and squirrels are trapping/exclusion work — see the wildlife guide.) Professional products only.

Part 1: Rodent control principles

1. Rodent work is 70% exclusion, 30% killing. Bait and traps knock down the population; sealing the building is what ends the problem. A mouse fits through a dime-sized gap; a rat through a quarter.
2. Rodenticide ALWAYS goes inside tamper-resistant stations. Loose bait blocks are how pets and kids get poisoned — it's also a label violation.
3. Know your rodent first. Mouse droppings are rice-sized; rat droppings raisin-sized. Roof rats travel attics and wires; Norway rats burrow at ground level. Deer mice (rural, white belly) carry hantavirus — never dry-sweep their droppings.
4. Secondary consideration: where rodents die matters. Bait means some die in voids (occasional odor); snap traps give you the body. Pros run both.

Part 2: Mouse protocol (House & Deer Mouse)

1. Inspect: droppings, gnaw marks, grease rubs, and nesting material trace the runways — along walls, behind appliances, garage corners, attic edges.
2. Stations on the runways: RTU mouse bait stations with Contrac Blox, every 8–12 ft along active walls, always flush against the wall. Exterior: station both sides of likely entry doors.
3. Log and refresh: check weekly; keep bait fresh until feeding stops (usually 1–3 weeks).
4. Seal as feeding drops: steel wool + sealant in gaps around pipes, garage door corners, AC line penetrations, dryer vents.
5. Deer mouse cleanup rule: ventilate, then wet-disinfect droppings (bleach solution, 5 min), wipe with paper towels, bag it — never sweep or vacuum dry. This is a hantavirus precaution, not fussiness.

Part 3: Rat protocol (Norway & Roof)

1. Find the pressure: Norway = burrows along foundations, under slabs, near trash; Roof = attic noise at night, wires and fence-top runways, fruit trees.
2. Tomcat Titan stations with Contrac Blox on the exterior pressure points and (roof rats) secured in the attic. Rats are neophobic — they may take a week to touch a new station. Don't move it daily; patience is the technique.
3. Kill the attractants: sealed trash, pet food up at night, fallen fruit gone, woodpiles off the ground.
4. Exclusion is a construction job for rats: roofline gaps, vent screens, and utility penetrations with rodent-proof materials (hardware cloth, sheet metal — not foam alone; rats eat foam).

Part 4: Product list (professional grade only)

Part 5: Safety

• Bait blocks never leave the station. Period.
• Gloves for handling stations, bait, or anything rodents touched.
• Deer mouse droppings: wet-disinfect method only (Part 2).
• If a pet may have eaten bait: call the vet immediately — bromadiolone has an antidote (vitamin K1) when caught early. Take the label along.

Part 6: When Buggsy says call a pro

• Rats indoors — established rat infestations are a pro job, full stop.
• Noises in walls/attic you can't identify (could be squirrels, bats, or rats — each is handled completely differently).
• Recurring mice after two full bait-and-seal cycles: something structural is still open, and finding it is what pros are good at.
• Any situation involving deer mice in living spaces (hantavirus risk justifies professional cleanup).