Rodent Control in the Upper Eastside and MiMo District

The Upper Eastside runs along Biscayne Bay north of Edgewater and south of Miami Shores. It was settled starting in 1909 and annexed into the City of Miami in 1924. Most of the homes are historic single-family houses from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s: Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco in Morningside, Spanish Eclectic and Mission style in Palm Grove, plenty of 1930s and 1940s houses in Shorecrest.

Old houses are great to live in and good for rats. A century of repairs, added rooms, re-roofs and new AC systems leaves gaps in places a roofer never looked at.

Why older houses here get roof rats

Houses from the 1920s through the 1940s often have flat or low-slope sections, parapet walls, decorative vents and tile that's been patched more than once. Many have had rooms added on the back, and the seam where the new roof meets the old one is a common gap. Add mature trees, palms and lots of shade, and you have a neighborhood where roof rats do well.

• Decorative vents and openings in parapet walls
• Seams where additions meet the original roof
• Tile that's been patched or lifted over the years
• Old window AC openings that were never fully closed

What a provider will look at

Expect the tech to spend most of the time on the roofline and in whatever attic or ceiling space the house has. Some of these houses have very little room above the ceiling, so they may need to work from the roof. Trapping comes first, then sealing the gaps with metal and mesh that won't look out of place on a historic house. If you're in a historic district and worried about changes to the outside, mention it on the call.

The MiMo strip

The MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District runs roughly from NE 50th to NE 77th Street, lined with 1950s and 1960s motels that are turning into shops, restaurants and small hotels. Restaurants along the Boulevard deal with rats around dumpsters and back doors, and the old motel buildings have the gaps that come with age. Businesses here should look at commercial rodent control.

Places we mention in Upper Eastside and MiMo: Morningside · Bayside · Belle Meade · Palm Grove · Shorecrest · Biscayne Blvd. · Legion Park

Other neighborhoods: Brickell, Wynwood and Edgewater, Little Havana, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Surfside and Bal Harbour, North Miami, Aventura, Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Doral, Westchester, South Miami, Kendall, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay.