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What a pest: Rodent infestation on the rise

Rats are looking to find new sources of food and shelter in the pandemic. Sponsored by Eastside Exterminators.

SEATTLE — Uninvited and unwanted guests can put a damper on just about any occasion. When they’re rodents and other pests, it’s downright cringeworthy.

Locally owned and operated Eastside Exterminators has been ridding residences of rodents for more than 50 years.

“We are a second-generation pest control company,” said Sharon Roebuck, the company COO. “We've been around since 1969." The daughter of the owner, Deanna Townsend, bought the company from her dad in 2000, her and her partner Alex Altizer.

“We've experienced just such really rapid and great growth in the last 20 years -- became a staple on the Eastside. We now service the entire Puget Sound area and it's just been a really exciting adventure.”

That adventure includes a tight-knit cadre of pest control specialists with the experience and expertise to eradicate infestation -- and not just by laying a few traps around the house.

“At Eastside we're very diligent about finding the entry points for the rodents to get into your home,” Roebuck said. “You have to really take care of those first before you can start controlling the population. We find where they're getting in, how they're getting in, repair those entry points with rodent-proof materials, and then we're going to get you set up on protection service.”

That protection service is customized by a professional to ensure the mitigation measures are continuing to be successful. It’s a regular check-in that evaluates the situation and makes any necessary adjustments.

“Eastside Exterminators has a proven rodent process,” Roebuck said. “It's called GPS, and it's not where you're going. It's our guarantee, our process, and our specialized technicians. 

“We have very highly trained specialized technicians in each area of pest control that we use. We're not a jack of all trades." Professionals include:

  • Rodent inspectors: Find pest entry points
  • Exclusion team: Seals entry points
  • Insulation specialists
  • Pest management professionals

You don’t have to have an active pest problem to enlist Eastside’s services. Their technicians will examine your home to identify any potential entry points and deploy preventative measures for nearly any type of pest."

“We are full-service pest control,” Roebuck said. “We do everything – ants, yellow jackets, wasps, spiders, even cockroaches. We've seen a really big uptick in cockroaches right now for some reason. We’ll protect you for all your pest needs in the same visit.”

For many, rodents have become a new problem for people during the pandemic. With easy food sources like restaurant waste and other garbage in the city gone or scarce, rats have been adapting by finding new sources of food and shelter in people’s homes.

“They're looking for food that they normally have really easy access to and now they don't,” Roebuck said. “So if you've noticed rodents in your home where you haven't before, this is completely normal. They are looking in new places that they've been forced out of their comfort zone to try to find new ways to survive. So don't panic, give us a call. It's really normal right now a lot of people are seeing that going on.”

Learn more about Eastside Exterminators at eastsideexterminators.com.

Sponsored by Eastside Exterminators. Segment Producer Derek Haas. Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.    

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