
Rat Control Services
Inspection, exclusion, baiting, and follow-up for active Norway and roof rat infestations. Most common request from West Winston and downtown-adjacent neighborhoods.
View service detailsLocally-owned rat and mouse removal serving Forsyth County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad. Free inspections, written quotes, and the no-fluff exclusion work older Winston-Salem homes actually need.

Winston-Salem Rodent Control is a locally-owned rat and mouse removal company serving Forsyth County and the Piedmont Triad. We handle Norway rats in Old Salem-era basements and sewer-adjacent foundations, roof rats moving through Reynolda's mature canopy into Buena Vista and Mount Tabor attics, and house mice in the dense pre-1970s housing stock across Ardmore and the West End. Same-day service across Winston-Salem proper. Free inspections. Written quotes before any work starts. No contracts, no pressure, no phantom certifications — just the exclusion and trapping work that resolves the problem.
Three services account for most calls coming in from Winston-Salem homeowners and property managers. The full catalog covers 28 specialties — see the link below.

Inspection, exclusion, baiting, and follow-up for active Norway and roof rat infestations. Most common request from West Winston and downtown-adjacent neighborhoods.
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Targeted house-mouse removal, sub-1/4″ entry-point sealing, and prevention plans for older Ardmore, West End, and Reynolda-area homes where mice exploit settling foundations.
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24/7 dispatch for active infestations — wall-cavity decomposition odor, restaurant health-code violations, attic noise keeping you awake. Same-day across Forsyth.
View service detailsWinston-Salem's rodent problem has a specific shape. Old Salem and the West End were built before modern foundation standards — brick piers, crawl spaces with hand-laid stone, and gaps that have widened with eighty years of Piedmont clay shifting. Norway rats find those gaps in late winter when they move up from sewer infrastructure looking for nesting territory.
Out west — Reynolda Park, Buena Vista, Mount Tabor, Forest Hills — the story is different. The hardwood canopy from Reynolda Gardens is mature enough now that roof rats use overhanging limbs as highways into soffit and gable-vent gaps on the larger 1920s–1950s homes. The mild Piedmont winters extend their breeding cycle by weeks compared to colder climates further north.
In the dense pre-1970s housing across Ardmore and Holly Avenue, house mice are the year-round constant. Tobacco-heritage shotgun houses, mill-village bungalows around the old RJR campus, and starter-home cottages near Wake Forest all share one trait: enough sub-1/4-inch gaps around plumbing penetrations and crawl-space vents to let mice in by the dozen across a single winter.
Knowing which problem you actually have is half the work. That's what the free inspection is for.

Restaurant-corridor Norway rat pressure around 4th Street and the Innovation Quarter, multi-unit residential entry points, and the older masonry buildings near the Reynolds Building.
Downtown service detailsDense pre-1970s housing stock between Hawthorne and Miller Street. Settling foundations, original crawl-space construction, and mouse-prone kitchen and laundry-line penetrations.
Ardmore service detailsMature-canopy roof-rat pressure off Reynolda Road and University Parkway. Attic soffit work, gable-vent screening, and tree-access exclusion on the larger established lots.
Old Town service detailsThe treatment changes completely depending on the species. A roof-rat job in Buena Vista looks nothing like a Norway-rat job in Old Salem. Here's how we tell them apart on the inspection.
| Trait | Norway Rat | Roof Rat | House Mouse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 7–10″ body, heavy build | 6–8″ body, slender, long tail | 2.5–3.5″ body, small ears |
| Droppings | Blunt-ended, 3/4″ | Pointed-ended, 1/2″ | Rice-grain shape, 1/4″ |
| Where you'll see it | Basement, crawl space, sewer lines, foundation perimeter | Attic, soffit, ceiling void, mature-canopy areas | Kitchen, pantry, wall void, garage |
| Peak in Winston-Salem | Year-round; Jan–Mar surge | Sep–Mar (cool-weather move-in) | Oct–Mar; year-round in older homes |
| Treatment lead | Ground bait stations + foundation sealing | Attic exclusion + tree-access pruning + elevated baiting | Snap-trap array + sub-1/4″ gap sealing |
Free inspection. Written quote before any work. Locally owned since 2023.
Full interior and exterior walk — attic, crawl space, eaves, foundation perimeter, plumbing penetrations. Free, written.
Confirm species, infestation severity, and entry points. Map the runways. You see what we see before any quote.
Species-appropriate removal. Trapping arrays, tamper-resistant bait stations, attic exclusion — whatever the property actually needs.
Seal entry points, install exclusion materials, and provide a written prevention plan tied to your property's specific vulnerabilities.
Yes — for active infestations reported before mid-afternoon, we routinely dispatch same-day across Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, with most adjacent towns covered same- or next-business-day depending on distance from Reynolda Road.
The mature hardwood canopy stretching from Reynolda Gardens through Buena Vista and Mount Tabor gives roof rats highway-grade tree access to soffits, gable vents, and roofline penetrations on the larger older homes in those neighborhoods. Tree pruning combined with soffit exclusion is the long-term fix.
Most one-time treatments run $250–$650 depending on property size and infestation severity. Full exclusion programs on older West End or Old Salem-area homes can range $900–$2,400 because the sealing work is more involved. Inspections are free and quotes are written before any work begins.
Our default approach leads with mechanical exclusion, snap-trap placement in protected runways inaccessible to pets, and tamper-resistant bait stations rated for child- and pet-resistant deployment. We walk you through exactly what's used and where before work starts — no surprises.
A typical Winston-Salem home with a moderate mouse problem reaches knockdown in 10–14 days. Roof-rat work in Reynolda-canopy properties usually runs 3–5 weeks because tree-access exclusion has to happen alongside trapping. Norway rat work in Old Salem basements depends on how far the sewer-line activity extends.
Yes — our honest service area includes Forsyth County plus adjacent towns in Davidson, Davie, Yadkin, and Stokes counties within roughly 45 minutes of Winston-Salem. We don't pad with Charlotte or Raleigh; if you're outside that drive, we'll tell you up front and point you somewhere closer.
Beyond the three featured above, here are the remaining Winston-Salem neighborhoods with dedicated service pages.