The short version
Trap the ones inside, then seal the gaps. An inspection usually costs $75–$250.
- Look for droppings, gnaw marks and night-time scratching.
- Across Commerce City, mice usually start moving indoors in October and November, as nights get colder.
- Traps remove them; sealing keeps them out.
- Never sweep or vacuum droppings dry.
Homeowners, renters and landlords in Commerce City who are hearing, seeing or smelling signs of rodents.
What to look for
A mouse fits through a gap the size of a dime. Seeing one in daylight usually means there are more. Rodents are mostly unseen. You hear them at night and find droppings by morning.
- 1Bait or pet food vanishing from bowls overnight.
- 2Dead-animal odor that appears and slowly fades.
- 3Fresh gnaw marks on door corners or garage weatherstripping.
- 4Pets staring at or pawing at a wall or appliance.
- 5Rodent hair or droppings inside HVAC ducts.
- 6Greasy rub marks along baseboards, beams, and pipe runs.
Why it’s worth acting soon
- Mice breed fast, every few weeks.
- Droppings and urine contaminate food and insulation.
- Gnawed wiring can be a fire risk.
- Nests and odor get harder to clean the longer they stay.
- Deer mice can carry hantavirus.
Treatment options and typical costs
Inspection and Entry-Point Mapping
$75–$250
Many credit the fee if you go ahead. Ask. Ask whether the report lists every entry point, because in Commerce City that list is the real product.
- Time
- 60–90 minutes
- Best for
- Every job; nothing else works without it
Attic and Crawlspace Cleanup and Sanitation
$500–$3,000, higher if insulation is replaced
Droppings can carry hantavirus, so never sweep or vacuum them dry. Commerce City pros wet everything down with disinfectant first and use respirators and HEPA-filtered equipment.
- Time
- Half day to two days
- Best for
- Heavy contamination; odor, urine-soaked insulation, nesting
Snap-Trap Program
$150–$400 per visit
Placement matters more than bait. Rodents run along edges, so traps in Commerce City attics and kitchens go perpendicular to walls, in the dark corners where droppings cluster.
- Time
- 30–60 minutes per visit, 2–4 visits
- Best for
- Active indoor infestations; fast results you can see
Sealing and Rodent-Proofing
$200–$1,500, more for large or complex homes
Ask for a walkthrough of every sealed point, plus photos. A good Commerce City company will photograph each repair so you know what was done and where to look later.
- Time
- 2–6 hours, sometimes a full day
- Best for
- Stopping re-entry for good; the lasting fix
Prices are typical published ranges. Ask what’s included before you compare quotes.
Under the sink is the first place to check: the hole where the pipe passes through the cabinet back is often cut much bigger than the pipe.Which rodents live around Commerce City.
They're small, curious and breed quickly. Norway rats are the other usual suspect. They burrow along foundations and enter low. Deer mice live around Commerce City too, mostly near open land and in sheds or cabins. They can carry hantavirus, so clean up their droppings carefully. House mice are the most common rodent in Commerce City homes.
When they move in.
Spring is breeding season. Small problems grow fast. Check for gaps before then.
This is what a proper seal looks like: metal mesh fastened with screws and sealed at the edges. Foam or caulk on its own gets chewed through.How they get into houses here.
Rodents use gaps around utility lines, dryer vents and window wells. Check where pipes and cables enter. Look at the dryer vent flap. Window wells need covers or screens. Homes from Commerce City out to Thornton and Denver share the same weak spots, so the checklist below works across the area. Plenty of homes in Commerce City have basements.
A year of rodents in Commerce City.
- Summer: with highs around 89°F in Commerce City, rodents look for water. Fix drips and leaks. - Fall: rodents look for shelter. Seal gaps before cold nights arrive. - Winter: with lows near 18°F in Commerce City, check the attic, garage and pantry for droppings. - Spring: breeding season. Act on any sign quickly.
Mice or rats?
- Rub marks: rats leave greasy smudges along walls and beams. - Droppings: mouse droppings are rice-sized. Rat droppings are two or three times bigger. - Holes: mice chew dime-sized holes. Rats chew holes closer to quarter-sized. - Sounds: mice sound light and quick. Rats sound heavier. - Behavior: mice are curious about new traps. Rats avoid them for days.
Sealing small gaps yourself.
- Check your work: daylight through a gap means it isn’t sealed. - Steel wool or copper mesh: pack it into small gaps first. - Sealant or mortar: cover the mesh so it stays put. - Hardware cloth: use quarter-inch mesh over vents and larger holes. - Door sweeps: close the gap under garage and exterior doors. - Expanding foam: fine on top of mesh, useless on its own.
Cleaning up droppings safely.
- Wash your gloved hands, then your hands. - Air the room out for 30 minutes first. - Wear rubber or plastic gloves. - Spray droppings with a bleach solution, then wait five minutes. - Wipe up with paper towels and bag them. - Don’t sweep or vacuum droppings dry. It stirs up dust.
What happens at an inspection.
The inspector walks the outside first. They check the foundation, vents, rooflines and utility gaps. Inside, they check the kitchen, garage and attic. You should come away with a list of entry points. Photos help. Most inspections take about an hour.
Rodents in the car.
Park in a closed garage when you can. Check the air filter box for nesting. Clear birdseed and pet food from the garage. Mice and rats nest in engine bays and chew wiring.
Bird feeders and rodents.
Use a seed tray and sweep up spills. If rodents show up, bring feeders in at night. Store seed in a metal can with a tight lid. Spilled seed feeds mice and rats.
Questions to ask before you sign.
- Will you use poison inside? (Ask them not to.) - Where are they getting in? - Which gaps will you seal, and with what? - How many trap visits are included? - What happens if they come back? - Is cleanup included, or extra?
Rodents by the numbers.
Across Commerce City, what actually matters is a walk-through: where the droppings are, how the rodents are getting in, and how large the colony is. Across Commerce City, those three findings — species, entry points, and scale — are what a quote should be built on, not a regional average. Across Commerce City, ask any provider to show you the entry points and the plan before you compare numbers. National surveys set rough expectations but cannot diagnose one house.
What affects the price
- Follow-up visits included versus billed separately.
- Sewer line inspection if rats are entering underground.
- Whether insulation must be removed and replaced.
- Crawlspace or slab; crawlspaces add labor.
- Whether sheds, garages or other outbuildings are included.
- Age of the home and condition of the foundation.
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What's your biggest concern about rodents?
When to call for help
Attic cleanup is hard to do safely without training. They take a longer, more careful approach. Call right away if you see rats. So is a dead-rodent smell. Droppings in several rooms are another sign. Call if you hear them in the attic or walls.
What you can do yourself
That's where a pro's sealing work pays off. Rooflines, vents and attics are harder. Seal small gaps with steel wool and sealant. Store food in sealed bins. Bait them with peanut butter. Start tonight with snap traps along the walls.
Rodents in Commerce City
Commerce City only gets about 14 inches of rain a year, so local rodents look for water: drip lines, pet bowls and leaky hose bibs. Winter lows average around 18°F in Commerce City, and that cold is what sends mice looking for a way in. In Commerce City's neighborhoods, woodpiles, fences, bird feeders and gardens draw rodents close to the house. A typical home in Commerce City is worth around $440k, and chewed wiring or soiled insulation can get expensive.
Local research
Rodents in Commerce City, CO: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which rodents actually live in Colorado, when they are busiest around Commerce City, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Rodent species recorded in Colorado
- 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.
- Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) — Primary U.S. hantavirus carrier; lives throughout Washington and the interior West.
When rodents are busiest around Commerce City
Spring cleanup exposure; summer. Deer mice and hantavirus in NM/AZ/CO/NV; plague fleas on wild rodents.
Based on Commerce City’s semi-arid climate profile.
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; CDC; Pest Notes: House Mouse; Pest Notes: Rats; Hantavirus. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Simple ways to keep rodents away
- Keep grass short and remove tall weeds along fences.
- Cover dryer and exhaust vents with metal louvered covers.
- Keep garbage in lidded cans and pick up fallen fruit.
- Walk the exterior each season looking for fresh gnawing.
- Clean up pet waste and do not leave bowls out overnight.
- Stack firewood off the ground and away from the house.
After sealing, a few monitors or unset traps left along the walls tell you whether anything is still getting in before you hear it again.Did you know?
Across Commerce City, the word rodent comes from the Latin rodere, which means to gnaw.
Across Commerce City, rodents make up about 40 percent of all mammal species on Earth.
Questions people ask
What does a rodent inspection involve?
The inspector checks the outside walls, roofline, vents and utility gaps. Inside, they look at the kitchen, attic, garage and under sinks. You should get a list of entry points.
Can I just seal the holes myself?
Small gaps, yes. Use steel wool or copper mesh, then seal over it. Foam alone won't stop them. Rooflines and vents are harder, and that's where a pro helps.
Do I need to replace attic insulation?
Only if it's heavily soiled or flattened by nesting. Light activity can often be cleaned up. Ask the inspector to show you before you agree to replacement.
Will rodents leave on their own?
Rarely. Once they've found food, water and a warm nest, they stay.
Is it safe to clean up droppings myself?
For small amounts, yes, with care. Wear gloves and spray the droppings with a bleach solution. Wait five minutes, then wipe up with paper towels. Never sweep or vacuum them dry. Deer mice here can carry hantavirus. Take extra care in sheds.
Does a house with structural problems attract more rodents?
Occupied U.S. homes with sloping, leaning or buckling outside walls were 5.6 times as likely to report rodent sightings in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS). For a home in Commerce City, the next step is an inspection that finds the source.
Is one mouse in the house a sign of an infestation?
Not necessarily. It deserves a look. In the National Pest Management Association's (NPMA) September 2022 Harris Poll of more than 1,300 U.S. homeowners, 37% reported having seen only one rodent, while 14% described a multiple-rodent infestation. As you collect quotes in Commerce City, ask each company what they usually run into in your neighborhood.
Are rodents a problem in Commerce City?
They're common here, as almost everywhere. House mice cause most problems.
Nearby cities
Related guides
Sources (11)
The facts in this article come from the public sources listed above. Every home is different, so ask the company you talk to about pricing and what’s included. Published by Rodent Exterminator · Updated September 11, 2026 · How we write these guides