I would like to thank Joe of Snap Pest Control for his assistance on dealing with the mice problem in my townhouse which bothers me for more than a month. I at first hired a pest control company and the exterminator came quickly but he just stayed for less than half an hour to look around and set the bait stations/traps. During the visit, he did check inside and outside the house, but was unable to tell on how the mice come in. He just said the external wall looks fine and there are no suspected cracks that allow them to go in. Before leaving, he set traps and bait station in different areas and said the mice should disappear in 2 weeks. After he left, I add some more poison and ultra sound devices that I bought from the stores.
Though his advice did relieve me at the beginning, I started to be upset when I continued to see the drippings even in the 3rd week after his visit. During these 3 weeks, only one mouse was caught by the trap. It is also funny that the mice like my poison but didn't touch his bait stations. The exterminator finally came for the 2nd visit.
This time, he found a hole in the kitchen and advised me to seal it !!! I thought it should be his work since in different advertisements, the pest control companies would normally mention that they will seal the possible openings. Anyway, I didn't argue with him. Before he left, he put more poison around and said these should be enough.
Though more poison are placed around, I continue to see the drippings since the root cause is not fixed i.e. seal all the possible openings.
After he left, I looked around myself and noticed that the cold air return vents could be one of the possible openings since the gaps on the covers are wide enough for them to squeeze in. I used the flashlight to look inside and saw the drippings. That confirms my suspicion. I'm so surprise that the exterminator didn't check these vents. As I have lost confidence on him, I decided to go for another pest control company.
Thank my Lord that I saw the reviews of Snap Pest Control. From Joe's response to the reviewers, I can sense that he is experienced, reliable and responsible. I therefore contacted him and we have a brief discussion over the phone. Thank my Lord again, he understood my frustration and is willing to help out though it's a long drive for him to come all the way to my house.
He came on time on the scheduled day and spent almost 3 hours in my house to locate the possible openings inside and outside my house. He also checked the cracks on the wall of my neighbor's garage and their garage door. He then told me that the mice most probably come in from the openings outside my neighbor's garage. When they get in their garage, they go up to the 2nd floor from the space in the wall of their garage. Most probably, they find the way to enter the the space between the ceiling of ground floor and the hardwood floor of 2nd floor of my side. From there, they found the openings to enter my living room and the kitchen.
Once he has located the possible openings inside and outside my house, he sealed them one by one with mesh or steel wool. He even sealed the hole on the wall of my neighbor's garage. Finally he set some traps but not too many because as per his advice, it would alarm the mice and they won't touch them.
It's almost a week since his last visit and I don't see any new drippings. I believe it's because he has sealed all the possible openings which are the root cause of the infestation. He will come back again in about 2 months to check the situation and then a final visit in the fall.
For me, I really appreciate his patience in locating and sealing the openings. It also teaches me how to look for a good pest control company. Before you decide to hire a company, make sure the exterminator will locate and seal the openings for you or not. If he will not, I would suggest you to look for another one since poison, bait stations and traps cannot resolve the issue completely.
Thanks Joe again, really appreciate your assistance and I will definitely refer you to my friends if they need pest control service.