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MD Rodent Control

Rodent Exterminator in Gaithersburg, MD

The City of Gaithersburg does not provide regular weekly trash collection. HOAs and individual homeowners arrange private haulers, and City Code Section 18-3 decides who must supply vermin-proof cans with tight-fitting lids. With about 29.5% of homes townhouses or other attached homes, and about 49.8% in buildings of 5 or more units, that split shapes rat and mouse removal and sealing here.

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Statewide rules and background: Maryland rodent guide

A city with its own code and its own inspectors

Gaithersburg is an incorporated city, and its Neighborhood Services team enforces the City's own codes on property maintenance, public nuisances, rental housing and landlord-tenant relations. Under Section 18-3(c), the presence of rodents, or evidence of them, counts as improper maintenance of stored trash. The City's Rental Housing page says rentals must be licensed every two years and lists freedom from insect and rodent infestation among the items inspectors check. Since inspectors look for infestation, a landlord may want rodent exclusion done alongside any rat control or mouse control before that visit.

Rows of townhouses, big complexes, few detached houses

  • About 29.5% of Gaithersburg's housing units are single-family attached homes, such as townhouses, against 17.8% across Montgomery County and 21.3% in Maryland.
  • About 49.8% sit in buildings with 5 or more units, compared with 33.3% in Montgomery County, and only about 18.6% are detached houses, compared with 46.6% county-wide.
  • About 49.2% of occupied homes are rented, against 34.7% in Montgomery County and 32.4% in Maryland.
  • Just about 5.3% of the city's homes predate 1960, compared with 20.2% in Montgomery County, while about 31.9% date from 2000 or later, compared with 20.9% county-wide. The median Gaithersburg home was built in 1989, against 1980 for the county.

These are Census estimates for the whole city, not a verdict on any one home. They matter because a mouse in a townhouse row may be living behind a neighbor's wall, and because in a multifamily building Section 18-3(b)(2) puts the container duty on the owner or resident manager.

Year built, share of housing units

  • 5.3%

    Built before 1960

    ±1.3 points

  • 26.2%

    Built 1960 to 1979

    ±2.1 points

  • 36.6%

    Built 1980 to 1999

    ±2.2 points

  • 31.9%

    Built 2000 or later

    ±2.7 points

Building type, share of housing units

  • 18.6%

    Single-family detached

    ±1.5 points

  • 49.8%

    Buildings of 5+ units

    ±3.3 points

Who supplies the cans, and who answers for rodents

Trash duties under the City's refuse rules

The City does not provide regular weekly refuse collection, so HOAs and individual homeowners arrange private haulers. The City Code still sets how trash is stored, and Section 18-3 splits the duty by type of home.

Situation: Trash at a single-family home or townhouseWho must act: The occupant and/or owner provides enough approved containers to prevent overflow between collectionsCode section: 18-3(b)(1)
Situation: Trash at an apartment building or other multifamily dwellingWho must act: The owner and/or resident manager, not the occupants, provides enough approved containersCode section: 18-3(b)(2)
Situation: Rodents, or evidence of them, where trash is storedWho must act: Counted as improper maintenance and a need for more frequent removal; after written notice the City manager may remove the waste, and the cost is a debt due the CityCode section: 18-3(c)
Situation: Rubbish or garbage set outside at a single family residential propertyWho must act: It may not go out more than 24 hours before the scheduled collection, or it is a violationCode section: 17AA-3 (IPMC 307.1)
Situation: A dumpster enclosure is providedWho must act: The enclosure stays closed except while someone is putting materials in or taking them outCode section: 17AA-3 (IPMC 307.1)

Section 18-3(c) also requires containers other than recycling and bulky-rubbish bins to be vermin-proof and waterproof, with tight-fitting lids at all times, and 18-3(d)(1) calls for garbage collection at least once a week, or more often as needed to prevent overflow or objectionable odors. If your hauler comes less often than that, raise it with the HOA or the hauler.

Rentals: a rodent-free lease and a City inspection

Chapter 13 of the City Code sets what a lease must say and what landlords and tenants each owe, and Chapter 18AA requires a rental license and inspections.

  • Rodent-free at the start: Section 13-13(n) requires each lease to promise that the landlord delivers the leased premises and all common areas clean, safe and sanitary, free of rodents and vermin. For a condominium or cooperative, that covers only the unit.
  • Building and grounds kept clean: Unless a single-family lease makes the tenant responsible, Section 13-17(a) has the landlord keep the building and grounds clean, sanitary and safe, and provide trash receptacles with frequent removal. Condominium and cooperative units are excepted.
  • An inspection every license cycle: The City's Rental Housing Inspection Guide says multifamily, single-family and townhouse rentals are inspected every two years. Its common violations include structure that is not rodent-proof, and it says gaps that may permit vermin must be sealed.
  • Write to the landlord first: Report droppings or gnaw marks to the landlord in writing. If the landlord makes no bona fide effort to fix the condition within one week, Section 13-22 lets you file a written complaint with the city manager or director.
  • Replying to the City: Section 13-17(c) gives a landlord 48 hours to respond to written City communications about a defective tenancy in an emergency, and 72 hours otherwise. That is a time to respond, not a time to finish repairs.

Where mice get into a townhouse or a garage

Gaithersburg's Rental Housing Inspection Guide asks for foundations, roofs, windows, doors, ceilings, walls and floors that are rodent-proof, and for sealed gaps. Those make a good checklist for any home here, owned or rented.

  1. Garage door bottom and corners

    Look at the rubber seal along the bottom of the garage door, and at the corners where it meets the frame. Daylight at either spot, or a torn seal, is a way in. Check the threshold of the door from the garage into the house too.

  2. Along the shared wall

    Section 18AA-2 of the City Code defines a townhouse by a continuous party wall without openings from the lowest floor to the highest point of the roof. Where pipes, wires or ducts run near that wall in the basement or attic, check for gaps a mouse could use to come from next door.

  3. The trash corner

    Keep cans closed. The City's Animal Services advice is to use a can with a tight-fitting lid with clamps or a screw-on top, store garbage in the garage or shed, and wait until the morning of pickup to put cans at the curb.

  4. Roofline, soffits and vents

    Animal Services lists the attic, roof, fascia, vents, soffits and crawlspace among the places wildlife can damage, and advises checking closely in early spring and fall. Use the same walk-around to spot openings a rat or mouse could use.

Rodent exclusion · Guide to rodent entry points in a house

Matching the service to your home

  • Mouse Extermination

    About 29.5% of Gaithersburg's homes are townhouses or other attached homes and about 49.8% are in buildings of 5 or more units, so many homes share a wall. For house mice, ask for the shared wall to be checked, not only the rooms with droppings.

  • Rodent Exclusion

    The City's Rental Housing Inspection Guide says all gaps or openings that may permit vermin or pests must be sealed, and multifamily, single-family and townhouse rentals are inspected every two years. Owners can book sealing ahead of the inspection and ask for a list of what was closed.

Related services

  • Rat Extermination

    For rats at the trash corner, where Section 18-3(c) treats the presence of rodents, or evidence of them, as a need for more frequent removal.

  • Rodent Removal
  • Commercial Rodent Control

    For businesses that produce garbage or other perishable waste, which the City's version of IPMC 307.1 requires to use leak-proof containers with close-fitting covers.

  • Attic Rodent Removal

    For scratching in a top-floor unit or a townhouse ceiling.

What Professional Rodent Control Covers

Your call reaches a trusted local pro. Ask how they handle each step.

  1. 1. Inspection

    A trusted local pro checks inside and out. Ask about a free inspection.

  2. 2. Identification

    Droppings, tracks and gnaw marks show whether rats or mice are inside.

  3. 3. Trapping and removal

    Trapping removes the rodents already in the building.

  4. 4. Entry points

    The gaps and openings rodents use are found and marked.

  5. 5. Exclusion

    Sealing those openings keeps new rodents from following.

  6. 6. Cleanup

    Ask what cleanup of droppings and nesting material the pro recommends.

  7. 7. Monitoring

    Follow-up checks confirm the activity has stopped.

How a call works

What Affects Rodent Control Cost in Gaithersburg?

  • Middle unit or end unit

    A middle townhouse shares two walls with neighbors, an end unit one. Checking and sealing along each shared wall adds time, so ask how the quote treats them.

  • HOA or management involvement

    If rats are coming from a shared dumpster area or common ground, ask the HOA or management whether its own contractor is already treating it before you pay for outside work.

  • Work ahead of an inspection

    Landlords booking work before the City's two-yearly rental inspection may want sealing plus a written list of each gap closed, since the Rental Housing Inspection Guide asks for gaps that may let vermin in to be sealed.

The provider sets the price after an inspection.

  • Building size, home or commercial
  • Rats or mice, and how widespread
  • Number of entry points and how hard to reach
  • Attic, crawl space or wall access
  • Trapping visits and dead rodent removal
  • Exclusion materials and amount of sealing
  • Droppings, nesting and insulation cleanup

How each part of a job is priced

Common Questions About Gaithersburg Rodent Control

  • The City does not provide regular weekly refuse collection, so HOAs and individual homeowners arrange private haulers. Under Section 18-3(b), the occupant and/or owner supplies enough approved containers at a single-family home or townhouse, and the owner and/or resident manager does so at a multifamily building. Under 18-3(c), containers other than recycling and bulky-rubbish bins need tight-fitting lids at all times.

  • They can. Mice travel along pipes, wires and small gaps where attached homes meet, so a whole row can share one problem. Seal your side, keep food in closed containers, and talk with the neighbors and the HOA. If one home is treated and the next is not, mice can keep returning.

  • At the start of the lease, yes. Section 13-13(n) requires the lease to promise that the landlord delivers the leased premises and common areas clean, safe and sanitary, free of rodents and vermin. In a condominium or cooperative, that promise covers only the unit. After you move in, Section 13-16 has you keep the part of the home you occupy as clean, sanitary and safe as its condition permits.

  • Tell the landlord in writing first. If the landlord fails to make a bona fide effort to fix it within one week, Section 13-22 lets you file a written complaint with the city manager or director. The City's Landlord-Tenant Handbook says to contact Neighborhood Services at 301-258-6340 (ask for the Landlord-Tenant Investigator) or [email protected], and that anonymous complaints are accepted.

  • It can. The City's Animal Services advice says birdseed, suet cakes, peanuts and field corn put out for birds and squirrels can also draw mice and rats. Sweep up spilled seed, store seed in a closed metal bin, and take the feeder down for a while if you find droppings or burrows nearby.

  • Its wildlife page does not say it will. It says Animal Services responds to calls for rabies vector species and snakes in the living space of a home, and that living space does not include the attic, crawlspace, vents, or animals in the walls, ceilings or floorboards. For mice in those places, a pest control company is the usual call.

  • Only in a rodent-proof setup. Section 18-4(c) allows garbage in a compost pile only when the pile is completely rodent-proofed, while a pile of just leaves, grass and dirt needs no rodent-proofing. Use a closed bin with a solid base and a tight lid for kitchen scraps.

Nearby City Guides

Free Gaithersburg Rodent Inspection

When you call, mention your HOA or management company, and whether the signs are near the trash area, a shared wall or the garage.

What happens next

  1. Call and describe what you have seen and where.
  2. A trusted local pro can set up an inspection and confirm whether you have rats or mice.
  3. Ask them to explain trapping, removal and sealing, and what the work involves, before any work starts.
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Sources

  1. Recycling & Bulk Pickup. City of Gaithersburg, Department of Public Works. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  2. City of Gaithersburg Solid Waste and Recycling. Montgomery County MC311 (Non-Montgomery County Government topic). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  3. Sec. 18-3. Storage and removal. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  4. B25024: Units in Structure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Gaithersburg city). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  5. Neighborhood Services. City of Gaithersburg, Neighborhood Services. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  6. Rental Housing. City of Gaithersburg, Neighborhood Services. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  7. B25034: Year Structure Built, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Gaithersburg city). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  8. B25024: Units in Structure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Montgomery County). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  9. B25024: Units in Structure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Maryland). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  10. B25003: Tenure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Gaithersburg city). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  11. B25003: Tenure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Montgomery County). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  12. B25003: Tenure, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Maryland). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  13. B25034: Year Structure Built, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Montgomery County). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  14. B25035: Median Year Structure Built, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Gaithersburg city). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  15. B25035: Median Year Structure Built, 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Montgomery County). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  16. Sec. 17AA-3. Same, Amendments. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  17. Sec. 13-13. Contents of lease. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  18. Sec. 18AA-7. Inspections. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  19. Sec. 18AA-8. Violation after license issued. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  20. Sec. 13-17. Obligations of landlords. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  21. Rental Housing Inspection Guide (updated May 2025). City of Gaithersburg, Community, Neighborhood and Housing Services, Neighborhood Services Division. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  22. Sec. 13-22. Tenants’ complaints. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  23. Sec. 18AA-2. Definitions. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  24. Animal Services (Wildlife Frequently Asked Questions). City of Gaithersburg, Animal Services. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  25. Sec. 13-16. Obligation of tenants. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  26. Landlord-Tenant Handbook (October 2025). City of Gaithersburg, Neighborhood Services Division. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  27. Sec. 18-4. Restrictions on dumping or disposal of solid waste, generally. City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, City Code (Municode Library, Supplement 52 Update 1). Retrieved 2026-09-28.

Related guides

Editorial policy · How it works · Maryland guide

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