Temple Hills Rodent Control
Family-owned & local since 1968
Mice in the duplex wall or rats under the stoop? We clear rodents out of Temple Hills homes, then keep them out with free callbacks.
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From Our Customers
Trusted Rodent Control in Temple Hills, MD — in Our Customers' Words
Hear what Northern Virginia and Maryland homeowners have to say about our service — in their own words. Real customers from real homes, sharing why they trust Better Termite with what matters most.
- Homes protected
- 100k+
- Google reviews
- 4.9★
- Years local
- 58+
Why Better Termite
Rodent Control in Temple Hills you can trust — from $49/mo with no binding contracts.
Lower-Impact Products
Hand-picked, EPA-approved treatments selected by our research team — without 9 of the harshest products still used by most companies.
Local Rodent Control Experts
Family-owned since 1968, with 300+ years of combined experience protecting Temple Hills homes. A licensed local tech answers the phone.
The Better Promise
Unlimited free re-services and no binding contracts — we keep coming back until your problem is gone. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
About Better Termite
Mouse and Rat Control in Temple Hills, MD 20748
Shared walls, block basements, and a creek valley out back
It usually starts in October. The nights get cold, and a few days later there are tiny black droppings in the silverware drawer. Or a rat runs from the trash cans to the space under the back stoop while you watch from the kitchen window. After that, nobody in the house sleeps quite as well.
Temple Hills makes it easy for rodents. Most homes here went up between the 1950s and the 1970s, and a lot of them are duplexes or garden apartments where two or more households share walls and a foundation. Henson Creek's wooded valley runs behind many back yards. And the Branch Avenue strip, from Marlow Heights Shopping Center to The Shops at Iverson, lines up dumpsters a short walk from thousands of homes.
Better Termite & Pest Control is a family company that has worked in the DC area since 1968, and our customers have left us 1800+ reviews. When you call, a licensed technician picks up, not a call center. You are never locked into a contract, and if rodents come back between visits, so do we, at no charge.
Local Rodent Pressure
Where Temple Hills Rats and Mice Come From
Every rodent problem comes down to food, water, and a place to hide. Temple Hills packs all three into 1.4 square miles.
The Henson Creek valley. Temple Hills is named for Edward Temple, who lived beside Henson Creek in the 1860s. The creek is still the main natural feature here. Its stream valley starts near Temple Hill Road, where Henson Creek Park sits, and runs south toward the Potomac. Brush, fallen logs, and soft soil along the banks make good burrowing ground for Norway rats. They nest there by day and move into yards at night.
The Branch Avenue shopping strip. Marlow Heights Shopping Center opened in 1957. Iverson Mall followed in 1967 as one of the first fully enclosed malls in the DC area and is now The Shops at Iverson. Add the restaurants and stores along St. Barnabas Road and Branch Avenue, and there is food waste going out the back door every night. Rats will travel a long way for a steady meal.
Postwar housing. The 2020 census counted about 3,700 homes in Temple Hills, mostly brick ramblers, duplexes, and garden apartments. Many sit on hollow concrete block foundations. After 50 to 70 years, the gaps where pipes, wires, and vents pass through that block have opened wide enough for a mouse. If you are not sure what brought them in, our article on why you have mice walks through the usual reasons.
Mice
Mice in a Temple Hills Duplex: Which Side Are They Coming From?
Temple Hills has more duplexes and garden apartment buildings than most DC suburbs. In all of them, the rodent behind the droppings is almost always the house mouse. It is small and gray-brown, and it can nest and breed indoors all year.
Shared buildings add a twist. In older duplexes and apartment rows, the wall between units is not always sealed from the basement to the roof. Pipes and wires often run through it. Mice use those gaps like a hallway. So you can keep a spotless kitchen, set traps, and still pick up mice that are nesting next door.
The six-month test
Daren, one of our longtime technicians, has handled this in row houses and duplexes for years. His rule: if a problem started small and you are still seeing mice six or seven months later after the outside of your house has been sealed, they are coming from the unit next to you. The only real end is getting both sides, or the whole row, sealed. That takes a talk with the neighbor or the property manager. If that is where things stand, we will say so.
Not sure whether it is mice at all? Compare what you found with our mouse droppings photos.
Rats
Rats Under the Stoop, the Shed, and the Back Fence
The rats in Temple Hills are Norway rats. They are big, brown, and they live on the ground. They dig. In a typical yard here, the burrows show up under the concrete front or back stoop, beside a shed, under a deck, along a chain-link fence, or under a pile of firewood or yard waste near the tree line.
What to look for
- Round holes about two to four inches across, often with loose dirt pushed out the front.
- Packed-down trails through the grass, usually between cover and your trash cans, compost, or bird feeder.
- Dark rub marks along the base of a block wall or a garage door, where oily fur brushes the same spot every night.
- Chewed trash can lids or bags torn open overnight.
One yard can feed the whole block
The Prince George's County Health Department's rat checklist puts it plainly: all neighbors have to work together. A rat colony ranges across several yards. If one house on the street leaves trash open or lets brush pile up, rats keep coming back to every yard around it. If a rat has already made it indoors, read how to get rid of rats in your house before you set anything out.
Entry Points
How Mice Get Through a Block Foundation
People are always surprised how small the hole can be. If the tip of your pinky fits, a mouse fits. That is about the size of a dime. A rat needs a gap around the width of your thumb. On a Temple Hills house built in the 1950s or 1960s, these are the spots we check first:
- Utility lines through the block. The top entry point by far. Every time a plumber, HVAC crew, or cable installer cuts through the wall, there is a chance the seal never goes back.
- Old cable and phone wires. A dead line hanging off the brick often goes in through a hole much bigger than the wire.
- Basement window wells. Leaves pile up, frames rot, and the gap between the frame and the block opens.
- Dryer vents and garage doors. A missing vent flap or a worn rubber sweep at the bottom of the garage door is an open door for mice.
- Brick weep holes. The small openings along the bottom of the brick that let moisture out also let mice in.
Once they are inside, hollow block gives mice a hidden path up the wall. Mice can climb up through the open cores to the wood sill on top. That is one reason mice can turn up on an upper floor even when they came in at the basement. Sealing every gap is not realistic, because there is always one you cannot find. That is why our plans lean on baiting and pair it with sealing advice.
Rodent Control
What Rodent Control in Temple Hills Looks Like With Us
Most people who call us have already tried. They set a few traps or tossed some hardware-store bait behind the washer. A mouse or two gets caught, things go quiet, and then the droppings come back. Catching the first few is the easy part.
Our first visit starts inside, at the spot with the most activity. We look for what the rodents are eating, like pet food left out overnight, a bag of bird seed in the garage, or open boxes in the pantry. If there is a better meal sitting around, they will skip the bait, so we tell you what to put away. Mice get bait in locked stations along their runs, mostly on the lowest floor. Rats inside get snap traps. Rats outside get locked stations along the foundation and near any burrows.
On follow-ups we check how much bait is gone and move stations where the activity is heaviest. Once the house is quiet, we switch to three visits a year. Anything in between is a free callback.
Plans start at $49/month, plus the $200 setup fee at the first visit. Our in-house research team reviews the products we use and has dropped 9 of the harshest ones still common in the industry. Dealing with roaches or ants too? See our Temple Hills pest control plans. Many of the same older homes also need a look at their termite protection.
Each station is opened, read, and refilled on every visit
Spilled bird seed is a nightly buffet for mice in the fall
Stations sit tight to the foundation, where rodents run
A woodpile against the fence makes a ready-made rat nest
Snap traps handle anything bait cannot reach indoors
One family has run this company since 1968
Everything We Do
Every service we offer in Temple Hills — one local team, one phone call.
Core Programs
- Home Pest Control in Temple Hills
- Termite Control in Temple Hills
- Rodent Control in Temple Hills
- Mosquito & Tick Control in Temple Hills
- Extermination Services in Temple Hills
- Eco-Friendly Pest Control in Temple Hills
- Sentricon® Termite Baiting in Temple Hills
- IN2CARE® Mosquito System in Temple Hills
- Commercial Pest Control in Temple Hills
- Pre-Construction Termite Control in Temple Hills
Insects & Spiders
- Ant Control in Temple Hills
- Carpenter Ant Control in Temple Hills
- Sugar Ant Control in Temple Hills
- Spider Control in Temple Hills
- Roach Control in Temple Hills
- German Cockroach Control in Temple Hills
- Oriental Cockroach Control in Temple Hills
- American Cockroach Control in Temple Hills
- Flea Control in Temple Hills
- Silverfish Control in Temple Hills
- Carpet Beetle Control in Temple Hills
- Pantry Pest Control in Temple Hills
- Stink Bug Control in Temple Hills
- Lady Bug Control in Temple Hills
- Boxelder Bug Control in Temple Hills
- Cricket Control in Temple Hills
- Tick Control in Temple Hills
- Earwig Control in Temple Hills
- Millipede Control in Temple Hills
- Centipede Control in Temple Hills
- Pill Bug Control in Temple Hills
- Springtail Control in Temple Hills
- Clover Mite Control in Temple Hills
Stinging & Flying
Rodents & Wildlife
What Prince George's County Homeowners Say
1800+ Reviews on Google "I want to take a moment to recognize the exceptional service I received from Mr. Hussam. From the start, he was highly professional, personable, and attentive to my needs. His dedication and loyalty to both his job and the business were evident in the way he handled every interaction with care and expertise."
"I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
"I want to take a moment to recognize the exceptional service I received from Mr. Hussam. From the start, he was highly professional, personable, and attentive to my needs. His dedication and loyalty to both his job and the business were evident in the way he handled every interaction with care and expertise."
"I highly recommend this company for your home pest control. Their technicians are thorough and have prevented any unwanted problems from happening on our property. During our last treatment, Jasmine took care of our outdoor spider webs without us even asking. Last summer they removed a mud dauber's nest under our deck and above our patio door. That attention to detail speaks volumes. Thank you for taking care of us!"
"The team at Better Termite & Pest control are phenomenal! I feel like my family and my home are in good hands. Everyone I have come into contact with has been responsive, pleasant and professional. The price is right and the service is superb!"
"Joann is amazing! She always takes time to talk with me and check inside boxes. I so appreciate her!! I have been using Better Termite and Pest Management for over 20 years."
"I love Darren over at Better Termite. He is always so attentive and kind, and really goes, IMO, out of his way to do a fantastic job. And I am so happy that I had NO MOSQUITOES this summer in my backyard in spite of the fact that there is a drainage area right behind my house, and that is 100% because of Better Termites services."
How It Works
How Our Temple Hills Rodent Service Works
Describe It to a Licensed Tech
Call (703) 683-2000. Tell us what you found: droppings behind the stove, a hole under the back stoop, or scratching over the bedroom at night. The person on the line is licensed, and they can quote your Temple Hills home on that call.
Inside First, Then Around the House
We start where the droppings are heaviest and look for what the rodents are eating. Then we walk the outside: pipe holes through the block, the dryer vent, basement window wells, the garage door sweep, and the shared wall line on a duplex.
Bait for Mice, Snap Traps for Rats Indoors
Mice get bait in locked stations placed along their runs. A rat inside is trapped, not baited, so it does not die inside a wall. Rat bait stays outside in locked stations by the foundation, fence, and any burrows.
Follow-Ups Until It Goes Quiet
We come back, see how much bait was eaten, and move stations toward the heaviest activity. How many follow-ups you need depends on how bad it was at the start.
Three Visits a Year, Free Callbacks
Once the house is quiet, service drops to three visits per year to check and refill each station. See signs in between? Call, and the return trip is free. There is no binding contract; 30 days notice ends it.
Your Local Office
Rodent Control Across Temple Hills, Hillcrest Heights, and Marlow Heights
From Henson Creek Park on Temple Hill Road to the Branch Avenue and St. Barnabas Road corridors, including Deer Park Heights and nearby Camp Springs. ZIP code 20748.
Get in Touch
Call Us
703-683-2000Email Us
info@bettertermite.comVisit Our Alexandria (Headquarters) Office
2647 Duke StreetAlexandria, VA 22314
Office Hours
- Mon, Tue, Thu7:30 AM – 7 PM
- Wed, Fri7:30 AM – 8 PM
- Sat, Sun9 AM – 6 PM
Good to Know
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? A licensed local tech picks up at (703) 683-2000.
Our Free Callback Promise
See pests between scheduled visits? We come back and retreat at no extra cost — as many times as it takes. No binding contracts, cancel anytime with 30 days notice.
Other Services in Temple Hills
Rodent Control in Nearby Communities
Your Local Office
Temple Hills is served by our Alexandria, VA team.
Alexandria (Headquarters) Office →