Every pest control company says they "do rodent control." What that actually looks like once a tech is at your door varies wildly — and it's the difference between a problem that ends in three weeks and one that drags on for months. We hear from frustrated homeowners every spring who paid for service somewhere else, watched traps sit untouched while mice kept appearing, and finally called us to start over.

So this post is the inside view. Exactly how ProSource handles mice in a Connecticut home, from the first phone call through follow-up visits, including the parts most companies skip. If you're considering us or just comparing approaches, this is what to expect.

Step 1 — The Free Inspection

Every rodent job starts with an inspection — free, in our 15-mile Waterbury service area, with no obligation. A licensed technician arrives in a marked truck and uniform, and the first 30 to 60 minutes are spent finding three things: how the mice are getting in, where they're nesting, and what they're feeding on. None of those answers come from looking at the mice themselves. They come from looking at the building.

Outside, the tech walks the entire foundation with a flashlight, focusing on areas where utilities enter the house (dryer vents, AC line sets, electrical and gas service, water and sewer lines), where siding meets the foundation, around basement bulkheads, and along the soffit and roofline. Mouse-sized gaps — anything wider than a #2 pencil, roughly a quarter inch — get flagged. Inside, the tech checks basement rim joists, behind appliances, under sinks, attic perimeters, and any area where you've reported activity.

What you'll know by the end of the inspection

Before the tech leaves, you'll have a written plan with a transparent price quote, the entry points marked on a simple sketch or photos, and a clear explanation of which areas will be treated and how. No pressure to sign on the spot. If you'd rather think about it overnight or compare quotes, that's fine — we'd rather lose a job than push someone into a decision they regret.

Step 2 — Treatment and Sealing

Once you've approved the plan, the first service visit usually combines three things: interior trap and station placement, exterior bait station deployment around the foundation, and exclusion work on the smaller entry points. Larger holes, structural gaps, or significant exclusion repairs are scoped separately because they require materials we may need to source.

Inside, we set snap traps and tamper-resistant bait stations along the runways we identified during inspection — usually along baseboards, behind appliances, in attic perimeters, and on basement rim joists. We use professional-grade product in lockable stations, not pellets scattered loose in a corner. Trap placement matters more than trap count: five well-placed traps catch more mice than 20 placed randomly.

Why we seal gaps under a quarter inch

As part of standard rodent service, we seal gaps smaller than a quarter inch ourselves on the spot, typically with copper mesh and exterior-grade sealant. This is the step DIY treatment and a lot of bargain pest control companies skip — and it's the reason the next mouse takes the same path in two weeks. For larger holes (think baseboard gaps where a dryer vent meets the wall, or pipe penetrations that have rotted out the surrounding sheathing), we'll quote either material-only or full exclusion repair, depending on what you want done.

Bait, traps, and why we use both

Snap traps catch fast and give you visual confirmation. Bait works on populations you can't see — mice nesting inside a wall or above a finished ceiling that traps can't reach. Used together they break the cycle from both directions: actively reduce the population inside the home while preventing outdoor populations from coming back in. Used alone, either one leaves a gap.

Step 3 — Follow-Up Visits

Most rodent jobs in our area resolve in two to three visits over four to six weeks. The first follow-up is usually within 7 to 14 days. The tech rebaits traps, replaces stations that have been heavily used, checks for new activity, and confirms the entry points stayed sealed. If activity is gone, we transition to monitoring; if anything's still showing, we adjust placement and treatment.

If you're on our quarterly Total Pest Coverage plan, this monitoring continues year-round — every three months by default, plus unlimited call-backs between visits at no extra charge. That's the route we recommend for older Connecticut homes and properties with significant landscaping or outbuildings nearby, because rodent pressure in those settings tends to be continuous, not one-time.

What If Traps Aren't Working?

Occasionally a homeowner tells us their traps haven't gone off but mice are still around, or that the bait gets eaten without results. Almost always, one of three things is happening: the traps are in the wrong location (not on a runway), the entry point hasn't been sealed (new mice arrive faster than the old ones get caught), or the population is larger than the trap count can handle. None of these are unsolvable — they just require diagnosis, which is what the follow-up visit is for.

If you've had service elsewhere and feel like you're not getting results, you can absolutely call us. We'll do the inspection on the same terms — free in our area — and tell you straight whether the current setup needs adjustment or a different approach. We'd rather help than upsell. Our broader take on this is in our post comparing effective strategies for keeping mice and rats away and our guide to top signs you have mice or rats in your home.

What This Costs

Standard rodent service for a single-family home in our area runs $299 to start with $125 per month on the monthly plan, or $299 to start with $60 per month on the quarterly plan. Both include unlimited call-backs and cover mice, rats, ants, spiders, roaches, stinkbugs, silverfish, bees, wasps, yellow jackets, carpenter bees, pantry pests, millipedes, and centipedes — not just rodents. Exclusion repair on larger structural holes is quoted separately because the materials and time vary.

If you only have one isolated incident, we can also do a single visit — but for most CT homes, the quarterly plan ends up being more cost-effective within the first year.

Book a Free Rodent Inspection

If you've heard noises, found droppings, or had service elsewhere that didn't work, we'll come out, look at the building, and tell you what's actually going on. No inspection fee. Most jobs scheduled within 24 hours.

Call ProSource Pest Solutions at (203) 405-9856 or request your free inspection online. Serving Waterbury, Southington, Cheshire, Watertown, Wolcott, Naugatuck, Plymouth, Bristol, Prospect, and the surrounding towns within 15 miles.