Flabbergasted at estimate for getting rid of attic mice

[agfsteve]

We had our house inspected by the Orkin company for termites, and the good news is that we don't have any.

The bad news is that we apparently have an infestation of mice in our attic. The guy went up there and took photos and showed us what he says are mice droppings and mice burrows and general evidence of mouse activity.

We told him we have never even seen one single mouse, inside or outside the house, but he said as long as they have access to the attic from outside (it looks like there is a place where they could in theory have gotten in) then we would not necessarily see them.

So it's going to cost us around fourteen thousand dollars to get this fixed, which entails the removal of the mice and the insulation, cleaning / decontaminating, and installation of special Orkin insulation that is repellent to rodents and insects.

I just about had kittens when he gave us the estimate, so I thought I'd tap into the wealth of vermin-related knowledge that you can only get from a forum of guitar pickers and see if this sounds legit to you all.

Thanks in advance.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by agfsteve

We had our house inspected by the Orkin company for termites, and the good news is that we don't have any.

The bad news is that we apparently have an infestation of mice in our attic. The guy went up there and took photos and showed us what he says are mice droppings and mice burrows and general evidence of mouse activity.

We told him we have never even seen one single mouse, inside or outside the house, but he said as long as they have access to the attic from outside (it looks like there is a place where they could in theory have gotten in) then we would not necessarily see them.

So it's going to cost us around fourteen thousand dollars to get this fixed, which entails the removal of the mice and the insulation, cleaning / decontaminating, and installation of special Orkin insulation that is repellent to rodents and insects.

I just about had kittens when he gave us the estimate, so I thought I'd tap into the wealth of vermin-related knowledge that you can only get from a forum of guitar pickers and see if this sounds legit to you all.

Thanks in advance.

Well, if you have kittens, they should take care of the mice. Have you considered getting a pet cat to deal with it? You could end up with a pet and no mice, and a full wallet.

Just a thought, but I don't have "vermin-related knowledge".

Best of luck...

Tony

[Kerbie]

I've used Orkin twice for services like this and while they're not the cheapest, they did a fantastic job for me both times. They repeatedly come back to check and they seal and treat the area, whether it's upstairs or downstairs. And the insulation job they do is superb.

[The Watchman]

I had bats in my attic. There droppings looked just like mouse droppings. Once we found out where they were getting in (roof flashing missing) and blocked that off (one way door) no more problem. Cleaning up after mice would require some special respiratory protection, etc, but whats the point of repellent insulation if they can no longer get in? Sounds kind of overkill, if such a product even exists. I'd call a smaller local pest control company and see what they say.

[rokdog49]

This is what I would do first...

Go to your local hardware store or Big Box and purchase some D-Con mouse eliminating products.
Place the stuff in your attic. The mice will eat the poisonous bait and go outside for water because that’s how it works. They die outside.

https://www.d-conproducts.com/products/

[David Eastwood]

I'd get at least one or two more estimates also.

We've used a local pest control company (they might actually be national, but I neither know nor care) for years, and when we had a rodent issue in the attic a number of years ago, they just gave us a tub of poison pellets to throw into the roof space. Took care of it in no time at all, and we've had no recurrence since.

Granted, we've had the siding replaced on the house since then, which may have closed some entry points - but $14k sounds like opportunism to me.

[frankmcr]

Seal off the attic from the rest of the house.

[Tony Burns]

most of these guys -basically just use bait called tom cat -
place one green pellet in a one use bowl in crawl spaces
or open areas away from people and pets - their like 7 or 8 dollars to get a bag of these at home depot -and they work .

[foxo]

If they aren’t causing you problems outside the attic then I can think of much better things to spend 14 grand on.

One of my parents houses had mice, they used an expensive pest control service that poisoned a few but didn’t eliminate their presence. Consider getting a cat, that worked for us!

[frankmcr]

Beware of "bargain" exterminators. Often there'll be hidden costs . . .

[Dru Edwards]

I'm guessing that there's no wiring in your attic? Mice like to chew on wires which can cause a fire hazard.

Did Orkin confirm that the mice have no access to get inside the walls in the attic? If so, they can easily migrate to your downstairs walls.

[fazool]

ummmmm

that sounds outrageous.

You could build a whole new attic for that much.

[agfsteve]

OP here.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

We've put this on hold for now, and notified Orkin.

We are still going ahead with a termite treatment from Orkin that we are comfortable with, but we don't have termites, so it's affordable and obviously prudent to make sure it stays that way.

The Orkin guy was really nice and not forceful, very knowledgeable and seemed to do a very thorough job of investigating. I just wanted to say that; I certainly don't want to disparage Orkin.

Thanks again.

[GCWaters]

Get a couple of live traps from Amazon....

[Silurian]

$14 K sounds a heck of a lot. For that money I would want the Pied Piper of Hamlin.