Rat and mouse article

How to Get Rid of Rats in Miami

Updated November 4, 2026

Confirm it's rats, cut off food, trap them along their runways, then seal the roofline with metal and trim the trees. Skip the sealing and new rats move in.

To get rid of rats in a Miami house, trap the ones inside, then close the openings they use and cut off the trees and food that brought them. Almost all of them are roof rats, which UF/IFAS calls the most abundant rodent pest in Florida. They live high, so the fix happens at the roofline and in the attic more than at the foundation.

Poison alone and plug-in repellers don't solve it. Below is the order that works, what you can do yourself, and when it makes sense to hand it off.

Step 1: Confirm it's rats

Check the droppings first. Roof rat droppings are black, banana-shaped and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, per UF/IFAS. Rice-size droppings mean mice, which is a different job; see mouse control. Other rat signs: running or thumping overhead at night, gnawed fruit on the tree, greasy rub marks along beams and chewed AC line insulation. Rats vs. mice goes into the differences.

Step 2: Take away food and cover

UF/IFAS ENY-224 notes roof rats prefer fruits, vegetables and grain. In Miami, that means your yard. Pick up fallen mangos, avocados and citrus every day while trees are producing. Bring pet food in at night. Fill bird feeders with only what birds finish in a day. Store pet food, bird seed and dry goods in hard containers with lids. Move wood piles and stacked materials away from the house and off the ground.

Step 3: Trap along their runways

Snap traps are the main tool. Set them where rats travel, along rafters and top plates in the attic, along walls and behind stored items in the garage. Put them at right angles to the wall with the trigger toward it. Use several, not one.

Rats are wary. UF/IFAS ENY-224 says they may take a week to approach a new trap, so placing traps unset with bait for a few days, then setting them, often works better. It suggests raisins or grapes as bait for roof rats. Outdoors, UF/IFAS advises setting rat traps only from dusk to dawn so squirrels and birds, which are active by day, don't get caught. The trap guide has more on types and placement.

Step 4: Be careful with poison

Bait has a place, but indoors it causes as many problems as it solves. A rat that eats poison may die inside a wall or soffit, and in Miami heat you'll smell it for weeks. Outdoors, UF/IFAS says poison bait must go in a tamper-resistant station, and rodenticide labels prohibit placing bait where children, pets or wildlife can reach it unless it's in a secured station. Consumer products must come with bait stations, per EPA rules. See the license and rodenticide guide.

Step 5: Seal the roofline

Once the traps stop catching, close every opening. UF/IFAS says rats can get through a 1/2-inch crack. On Miami houses, the usual gaps are the open ends of barrel tile, loose soffit panels, torn vent screens, the seam where an addition meets the original roof, and the hole where the AC line set enters the wall.

Use metal. UF/IFAS ENY-224 lists hardware cloth of 19 gauge or heavier with openings no larger than 1/4 inch, and sheet metal of 26 gauge or heavier. Foam alone gets chewed through. Don't seal while rats are still inside, or they'll chew a new way out. Rodent exclusion covers the work.

Step 6: Cut the bridges

Trees are how roof rats reach your roof. UF/IFAS recommends pruning so the ground under trees is open and limbs don't touch the roof, fences or wires, and fitting a sheet metal band 18 to 24 inches wide around trunks so rats can't climb them. Trim palms so they don't carry a skirt of dead fronds, which UF/IFAS lists as a nest site. Rats in palms and fruit trees has the details.

Step 7: Clean up safely

Don't sweep or vacuum droppings. The CDC's method is gloves on, soak the droppings with disinfectant or a bleach solution for about five minutes, wipe up with paper towels and bag everything. Heavily soiled attic insulation usually needs to come out. See droppings cleanup and sanitizing.

Why Miami makes it harder

Rats here don't get a winter break. UF/IFAS says roof rats breed year-round in Florida, with peaks in spring and fall, and travel 150 yards from the den for food or water. A neighbor's palm or a canal two lots away can keep supplying new rats after yours are gone. That's why sealing and trimming matter as much as trapping, and why it helps when neighbors do the same.

When to call a provider

Call if you hear activity overhead more than a few nights after setting traps, if you find chewed wiring, if the roofline needs ladder work you aren't comfortable with, or if a rat gets into the living space. A local technician can trap, seal and clean in one plan. Rat control explains what that looks like.

Related services: Rat Control, Rodent Exclusion, Rats in Palms, Fruit Trees and Yards