Free Inspections & Same-Day Rodent Service
Tennessee Rodent Control
Rat and mouse control for Tennessee houses, rentals and commercial buildings: an inspection, trapping and removal, then sealing the gaps rodents use to get back in.
Your call reaches a trusted local rodent pro.
Free Inspection · Same-Day Service in Many Areas
Six core services, each linked to its own guide.
The Tennessee Department of Health's Healthy Homes page says mice and rats can enter through very small openings, and it advises sealing gaps around wires, pipes, doors and windows with caulk, foam or steel wool.
Where to look: Guide to rodent entry points in a house
68.3%
of Tennessee housing units are single-family detached homes
30.8%
were built in 2000 or later
17.5%
were built before 1960
8.1%
are mobile homes
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024
Mobile homes: check the skirting and floor openings.
Memphis International Airport
Average low at or below 40F
January, February and December
Highest average highs
July and August
Nashville International Airport
Average low at or below 40F
January, February, November and December
Highest average highs
July and August
Chattanooga Lovell Field Airport
Average low at or below 40F
January, February and December
Highest average highs
July and August
Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport
Average low at or below 40F
January, February, March, November and December
Highest average highs
July and August
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), 1991-2020
Three of the four stations sit near the 40F line at one end of the cold season: Nashville's average March low is 40.2F and Chattanooga's November low is 40.3F, just above it, while Knoxville's March low of 39.8F is just below. Memphis and Chattanooga have the shortest cold season of the four, with only January, February and December at or below 40F. Treat the borderline months as cold ones.
Seal gaps before the first cold month. Rodents in fall and winter
UT Extension's wildlife guide lists the Norway rat, the roof rat and the house mouse, and its home pest guide reports roof rats becoming more common in Shelby County.
Source: University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, UT Extension, accessed 2026
UT Extension says rats like to find shelter in refuse and lumber piles, burrow under floors and nest inside walls and attics. Clearing stacked lumber and debris away from the house takes that shelter away.
Identification and behavior: Norway rat guide
UT Extension advises trimming branches away from buildings to keep roof rats, squirrels and carpenter ants from getting in.
Identification and behavior: roof rat guide
Identification and behavior: house mouse guide
Not sure which rodent you have? Compare rat and mouse droppings or see all rodent species.
Shelby County does, through its Health Department's Rodent Control/Urban and Rural Sanitation program.
Source: Shelby County Health Department, Tennessee, accessed 2026
The program enforces county ordinances covering rats, rat harborage, rat bites, overgrown grass and weeds, and improper garbage storage, through community surveys, complaint investigations and legal action when necessary.
Inspect, remove, seal, then check again.
A local rodent pro usually follows these steps. How a call works
1.Call
Say what you have seen or heard, and where.
2.Inspect
Ask to be shown the entry points and signs found.
3.Remove
Trapping, and baiting where it suits the site.
4.Seal
Closing the entry gaps the rodents used.
5.Check
A return visit shows whether the work held.
The provider sets the price after an inspection.
Ask for the price in writing before work starts. How each part of a job is priced
This guide covers the whole state. Browse every state guide
The Tennessee Department of General Services divides the state into three Grand Divisions, with Knox and Hamilton counties in East Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee and Shelby County in West Tennessee. In the July 2024 Census estimates, the Nashville metro had 2,150,553 residents, the Memphis metro 1,339,345 including its Mississippi and Arkansas counties, the Knoxville metro 957,608 and the Chattanooga metro 588,050 including its Georgia counties. In the 2020 Census, 66.2% of Tennessee residents lived in urban areas and 33.8% in rural areas.
Source: Tennessee Department of General Services, accessed 2026; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, accessed 2026; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, accessed 2026
When rodents keep coming back or are out of reach.
Activity returns after trapping
How to know rodents are goneSounds in walls or the attic
Scratching noises guideBurrows along the foundation
Rodent exclusionA business, rental or food area
Commercial rodent controlDroppings to clean up
Safe droppings cleanupGaps you cannot safely reach
Attic rodent removalWhen it needs to. The Shelby County Health Department's rodent control program applies rodenticides, when necessary, to Norway rat and roof rat infestations around homes.
Source: Shelby County Health Department, Tennessee, accessed 2026
Traps. The Tennessee Department of Health's Healthy Homes page says traps are safer than poisons near children or pets. The comparison of rat traps and poison explains the trade-offs.
Steel wool or copper gauze plus expandable foam. UT Extension says rodents will not chew the steel wool or mesh.
Source: University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, UT Extension, accessed 2026
Yes. UT Extension's wildlife guide says the house mouse, the Norway rat and the roof rat can be trapped or killed at any time in Tennessee.
Source: University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, UT Extension, accessed 2026
About 14.1% of Tennessee housing units are in buildings of five or more units, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. For those buildings, see the commercial rodent control page.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024
Describe what you found and where in the building.
Free Inspection · Same-Day Service in Many Areas