Local rodent information

Rodent control in California

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Rodents in California: what to know

Around California

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see rodents, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Rodents in California: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which rodents actually live in California, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

Hantavirus cases, 2025 (provisional YTD)

Highest state count in the 2025 column.

CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Prohibition on most uses of second- and first-generation anticoagulants

Rodenticide restriction

Bromadiolone, brodifacoum, difethialone, diphacinone, chlorophacinone and warfarin cannot be applied in most areas; bromethalin, cholecalciferol and zinc phosphide remain.

UC IPM

1/2 inch; seal all holes larger than 1/4 inch

Gap a rat can squeeze under a door

Roof rats travel 300+ feet for food.

UC IPM

Rodent species recorded in California

House mouse (Mus musculus) — Enters at 1/4 inch; 5-10 litters per year; eats about 200 small meals a night.
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) — Burrowing rat of basements, sewers and ground floors; tail shorter than head plus body.
Roof rat (Rattus rattus) — Climber of attics and trees in warm and coastal regions; tail longer than head plus body.
Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) — Primary U.S. hantavirus carrier; lives throughout Washington and the interior West.

When rodents are busiest in California

Rats active year-round; check periodically.

California's rodenticide law pushes work toward trapping and exclusion.

Rules that apply in California

For context, nationally

1/4 inch (the width of a pencil) — Smallest gap a mouse can enter. CDC
890; 35% fatal; 94% west of the Mississippi — Hantavirus cases reported since 1993 (through 2023). CDC

Sources: CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System; Pest Notes: Rats; CDC; Pest Notes: House Mouse; Hantavirus. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore California cities

Anaheim

Mediterranean · urban setting

Rodent control in California

Rodents in California: what to know

Around California

What to note

A useful next step

Rodents in California: what the public record shows

Rodent species recorded in California

When rodents are busiest in California

Rules that apply in California

For context, nationally

Explore California cities

Anaheim

Bakersfield

Chula Vista

Fremont

Fresno

Glendale

Huntington Beach

Irvine

Long Beach

Los Angeles

Modesto

Moreno Valley

Oakland

Ontario

Oxnard

Rancho Cucamonga

Riverside

Sacramento

San Bernardino

San Diego

San Francisco

San Jose

San Mateo

Santa Ana

Santa Clarita

Santa Rosa

Stockton

Sunnyvale

Fontana

Ask about rodent control in California