“They found the gap under the porch step in the first twenty minutes. The report had a photo of it, and another of the mesh they put in.”
Polly H.Farmhouse owner
Burlington and the Champlain Valley
Seal the house before the first hard frost
Mice, flies, beetles and bugs come indoors in the same few weeks, by the same few gaps. In a house built before 1950 those gaps are in the stone, the sills and the roofline. We find them, close them and treat only where something is living.
Fall checklist
Seven places a Vermont house lets fall in
Walk the outside with this list before the leaves are down. Each number is a spot we check on a fall visit.
- 1
Chimney top and flashing
An open flue lets in squirrels and bats; a lifted flashing lets in wasps and flies. We look from the ground and from the attic side.
- 2
Eaves and soffits
Where the soffit meets the wall, boards shrink and leave a slot. A mouse needs a gap the width of a pencil, no more.
- 3
Window and door frames
Old sashes settle. Gaps at the sill and the casing let in flies and beetles first, and mice later.
- 4
Where the porch roof meets the wall
A joint that moves with every freeze. Insects follow the warm wall up to it.
- 5
Pipes, cables and meters
Every line through the wall has a ring of space around it. Steel mesh and mortar close it; foam alone doesn't.
- 6
The foundation line
Stone and brick open at the mortar joints, and shrubs hide the gaps. Keep plantings a hand's width off the wall.
- 7
Porch steps and cellar doors
Lattice, steps and cellar doors give mice a dark corner to study the house from.
A typical farmhouse of the valley; your house will have its own list.
Plates
The usual guests of an old Vermont house
Six plates from our notebook: what each one is, where it turns up and what we do about it.
- Plate I
House mouse
Arrives from September. Scratching in the walls at night and a smell in the cellar come first; the way in is smaller than you'd guess.
Turns up: cellars, pantries, attic floors
We: find the way in, seal it, then trap if needed
- Plate II
Cluster fly
A large, slow fly that gathers on sunny walls in fall and wakes in the attic on warm winter days.
Turns up: south walls, attic windows
We: seal the roofline, then treat what's inside
- Plate III
Boxelder and stink bugs
Shield-shaped, they crowd the south wall in October and slip behind the siding to wait out the winter.
Turns up: window frames, siding, curtains
We: close the frames, then treat the wall line
- Plate IV
Carpenter ant
A large black ant that nests in wood kept damp by a leak, not in sound timber.
Turns up: sills, porch posts, around the chimney
We: find the nest, then show you the leak
- Plate V
Gray squirrel
Loud in the attic at dawn. It gets in at a corner of the roofline or a loose vent.
Turns up: roofline, attic, soffit corners
We: seal the entries; live animals go to a licensed handler
- Plate VI
Lady beetle
Orange and round, in thousands on one sunny window frame in October and November.
Turns up: sunny frames, attic and upper rooms
We: seal the frame, vacuum, treat the edges
Calendar
The weeks that matter
Most of the fall list falls between mid-September and the first hard freeze. The bars show when each guest is most likely to be seen.
House mice
Sep to Mar
Cluster flies
Sep to Oct, Feb to Mar
Boxelder and stink bugs
Sep to Oct
Lady beetles
Oct to Nov
Squirrels in the attic
Sep to Nov
Carpenter ants
Apr to Jul
Paper wasps
Jun to Sep
Timing follows the weather. A warm October stretches every bar.
How a visit goes
We start at the stone
A house built before 1950 usually has a fieldstone or brick foundation, a cellar with a dirt corner and walls that run open from the cellar to the attic. We begin outside at the foundation, then go down, then up.
A fall visit, in order
Walk the outside with a flashlight and an inspection mirror
Check the cellar and any crawlspace
Go into the attic on boards, with a headlamp
Close the gaps with steel mesh, metal flashing and mortar
Treat only where there is something to treat
Leave a written report that names each place we sealed
Before you call
What you can seal yourself, and what to leave to us
Some gaps are an afternoon's work. Others are hard to see, or hard to reach.
| The gap | Do it yourself | Call us |
|---|---|---|
| Door sweeps and weatherstripping | Do it yourselfEasy; a hardware store has them | Call usWe fit them if you'd rather |
| Gaps around pipes and cables | Do it yourselfSteel wool and caulk will hold a season; foam alone won't | Call usSteel mesh and mortar, so nothing can chew through |
| Stone and brick foundation joints | Do it yourselfEasy to miss from the outside | Call usWe seal what we find; repointing is a mason's job |
| Attic floor and soffits | Do it yourselfOnly if you're comfortable in the attic | Call usFrom inside, on boards, with a headlamp |
| Wasp nests | Do it yourselfNot a weekend project | Call usWe remove them, geared up |
After the fall visit
What customers told us
“The cellar was the problem, not the kitchen. Lea showed me where, and nothing was sprayed until it made sense.”
Fred S.Duplex owner
“I wanted to know what was in the walls before the snow. The checklist was on the refrigerator by the time they left.”
Lynette B.Homeowner
Sample reviews.
Where we go
Burlington and the valley towns around it
Most of our visits are in the Old North End, the Hill Section and the South End, and in the farmhouses of the valley towns around them.
- Chittenden County: Burlington, Richmond, Huntington, Bolton, St. George
- Franklin County: Fairfax
- Washington County: Waterbury
- Addison County: Monkton, Ferrisburgh, Bristol
We don't work north of Fairfax, east of Waterbury or across the lake in New York.
Before you call
Questions we hear in September
How much does it cost?
It depends on the size of the house, how many ways in we find and how many visits it needs. What drives the price is on the how pricing works page, and we write the number down before any work starts.
When should I book the fall visit?
Early September through October is best, before the first hard freeze sends mice and flies looking for a way in. We book in the order the calls come in. If you have already heard scratching, say so when you call.
Is it safe for kids and pets?
Our applicators are licensed and follow the label on everything they use. We tell you where to keep children and pets away, and for how long, and we send the product list if you ask. Much of the fall work is sealing, which uses no product at all.
Do I need to be home?
For the first visit, yes if you can. We walk the house with you and show you each gap. After that we need access to the cellar and the attic.
Do you take on bats and squirrels?
We seal the ways in. For live animals in the attic we follow the state's wildlife rules and send you to a licensed handler. Bats are protected, and can't be shut out in summer.
What if the pests come back?
Call us. We come back, look at how they got in and write it down. Whether the return visit is covered depends on your plan, and the terms are in the written estimate.
Book a visit
Tell us about the house
We reply on the next working day with a time. If you've heard something in the walls, say so.
Phone(802) 555-0102
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed