Derwood Rodent Control

Rock Creek Regional Park Sits on Derwood's Doorstep

Rock Creek Regional Park covers about 1,800 acres on Derwood's east side. It holds 75-acre Lake Needwood, formed when Rock Creek was dammed in 1965, and 55-acre Lake Frank, plus about 13 miles of wooded trail. Crabbs Branch Stream Valley Park adds another 138 undeveloped acres running from Redland Road down to the regional park. That is a lot of leaf litter, fallen logs, and stream bank for one small community.

That ground is prime habitat for the white-footed mouse, a woodland mouse with a brown back and a bright white belly. Homes in Needwood Estates, Park Overlook, and the Preserve at Rock Creek that back onto the park see them first each fall. They nest in stacked firewood, grill covers, shed corners, and stored boxes in the garage. White-footed mice also carry young deer ticks, which is one more reason not to let them settle in near the house. The same stream valley runs south into the city, which is why our Rockville rodent control work sees the same fall pattern.

Farm Fields and Open Ground Along Muncaster Mill Road

North of Muncaster Mill Road, the 455-acre Agricultural History Farm Park keeps a working farmstead, open fields, and an apple orchard in the middle of the suburbs. Fields and hedgerows feed field mice and voles all summer. When the fields are cut and the weather turns, some of those mice work their way into the nearest subdivisions, such as Muncaster Manor, Muncaster View, and Bowie Mill Estates. Not sure what you are dealing with? Our guide to field mice vs. house mice covers how to tell them apart. If the damage is runways and holes in the lawn rather than droppings in the house, read our mouse vs. vole breakdown before you set anything out.

The Frederick Road Corridor, the Rail Line, and the ICC

Derwood started in the 1880s as a stop on the B&O Railroad near Indianola Drive and Frederick Road (MD 355). The tracks still run through town. Rail corridors are long, weedy, undisturbed strips, and rodents use them to travel. Along MD 355 and around the Shady Grove Metro, restaurants, shopping centers, dumpsters, and the county's waste transfer station on Frederick Road add food to the mix. That part of Derwood is where Norway rats are most likely to show up, rather than just mice. Our write-up on rats in Maryland explains which species you are likely to see here.

Then there is the Intercounty Connector (MD 200), built straight through central Derwood between 2009 and 2011. Big earth-moving projects push rodents out of the ground they had. Today the grassy shoulders and stormwater areas along the highway form one more long strip of cover through the middle of the community.

A Housing Stock From the 1960s to the 1980s

The median Derwood home was built in 1981, and older sections like Mill Creek Towne date to the 1960s. Growth picked up again after Shady Grove Metro opened in 1984. You will find brick-front split-levels, Dutch colonials, colonial revivals, and townhouse rows. At 40 to 60 years old, these homes have had plenty of time for gaps to open. Utility lines have been redone and not resealed. Garage door trim has worn at the corners. Old cable lines hang out of holes nobody filled.