“Ida showed me the torn screen on the back vent and the gap around the gas line. I had walked past both for years. The scope listed each one.”
Kathy L.Homeowner, Hollins Market
Rodent exclusion · Baltimore row houses
Close the way in.
Mice get into row houses through gaps most owners never see: a torn vent screen, a hole around a pipe, an open crawlspace door. We find them and close them with steel mesh before we set a single trap.
The walkthrough
Under the house, in four steps
This is the visit in the order it happens. You can come under with us or wait at the door; either way you see every gap we mark.
01Light and a look
We start outside at the foundation and the vents, then go in through the crawlspace door with a headlamp and knee pads and follow every wall and pipe.
02Mark every way in
Each gap gets a flag: torn vent screens, openings around pipes and wires, the joint under a rear addition. You get the list before any work starts.
03Close it with steel
Mesh goes over each gap and is fastened and sealed so it stays put. Spray foam on its own is something mice chew through.
04Put it back, then check
We put back any insulation we moved, close the access and walk the outside again. Traps, if the house needs them, go in after the sealing and we say where.
Where the gap usually is
Five places we find the way in
Row houses are built alike, so the list is short. We check these before anywhere else.
- Outside
Foundation vents
Screens rust, tear and get pushed in. A gap about as wide as a pencil is enough for a mouse.
- Crawlspace
Pipes, wires and the gas line
Where a line passes through a wall or floor, the hole is usually bigger than the line.
- Back of the house
The rear addition
A kitchen or bath added to the back often sits on its own foundation, and the joint between old and new can open as the two move.
- Outside
Dryer and exhaust vents
A hood with a stuck flap or a missing screen is an open door.
- Outside
The crawlspace door
A door that no longer meets its frame, or one that is gone, lets in more than air.
How pricing works
What decides the price
No two houses have the same list of gaps. These are the things that change the number.
How many gaps there are, and how big
How much of the crawlspace we can reach
Whether the rear addition and the main house both need work
Whether traps are needed after the sealing, and for how many visits
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
A written scope that lists each gap we found, how we will close it and how many visits it takes.
Not included: structural repairs, or insulation beyond what we moved
Not included: wildlife work, which we refer out
If we find something outside our work, the scope says so
What happens at the visit
The walkthrough on this page, with you if you want to come under with us. When you book, we tell you whether the visit has a fee and whether it is credited toward the work.
When you get the number
In writing, before any work starts, with the scope beside it. We don't quote a price by phone or text, because we haven't seen the crawlspace.
Who comes to the door
Ida and Luther Dobbins read every scope before it goes out
We are a husband and wife with nine people on the crew. One of us has been in your crawlspace with a headlamp before the written scope reaches you.
The same two people write the scope and answer the phone.
The crew works from your written scope, not from memory.
If a job isn't ours, we say so and point you to who does it.
Sample reviews
What neighbors wrote
“They asked me to leave the traps for last. The sealing took a morning and the written scope matched the invoice.”
Amos W.Homeowner, Clifton Park
“I didn't have to go under the house. Glen sent me the list of gaps with a note on each, and then did them in the order he wrote.”
Jacinda R.Homeowner, Greektown
Sample reviews.
Our blocks
Baltimore row-house neighborhoods, and the blocks next to them
If your block isn't listed, send the address and we'll say.
Baltimore City
- Hollins Market
- Greektown
- Ednor Gardens
- Violetville
- Clifton Park
- Hamilton
- Lauraville
- Belair-Edison
- Montebello
- Butchers Hill
- Brooklyn
- Medfield
Baltimore County
- Essex
- Woodlawn
- Rosedale
- Rodgers Forge
We don't work in Howard, Anne Arundel or Harford counties, or in Washington's suburbs.
Before you call
Short answers
Do I have to go under the house?
No. We go in; you can come with us or wait at the door. Either way you get the list of gaps in writing, with a note on each.
Do you set traps?
Yes, after the sealing, and only where the house needs them. We tell you where each one is and when we'll check it.
How long does it take?
A walkthrough and the sealing for a typical row house is a few hours. The written scope says how many visits yours needs; results vary by house.
What if it comes back?
Call us. The written scope states how long each repair is covered and what voids it, so you know before you agree.
Book the walkthrough
Hear it in the walls? Start with the crawlspace.
Tell us the block and what you've noticed. We'll book the walkthrough and write the scope after it.
Phones are answered Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.