Rodent control in Russell Creek, Plano
Russell Creek is a Plano neighborhood in the 75025 ZIP. It shares its name with Russell Creek Park and the Russell Creek greenbelt, and the trail along that green space is a big part of why people like living here.
That same greenbelt is home to field mice and Norway rats. Houses along it see more of both, especially when the weather turns.
Rats along the creek
Norway rats like water and soft dirt, and creek banks have both. From there they move into back yards for food: bird seed, pet food, compost, vegetable gardens. Look along your back fence and under the shed for burrows. Rat burrow treatment explains how a technician handles them.
Mice in the garage
Field mice from the greenbelt end up in garages each fall. Keep the garage door down at night, put seed in metal cans and replace a flattened door seal. Garage rodent control covers the rest. If they've made it into the attic, see droppings cleanup.
Something in the attic or the garage?
Call and describe what you're seeing. Your call goes to an independent, licensed rodent provider that works your part of Plano. (972) 325-9652
After heavy rain
A big spring storm can push the creek up and flood burrows along the bank. Rats move to higher, drier ground, and that's often the space under a shed, a deck or a pile of lumber in a back yard. If you notice new holes or rats in daylight after a wet week, that's probably why. Keep firewood off the ground and close gaps under decks with hardware cloth.
Gardens and compost
A lot of back yards along the greenbelt have vegetable beds, fruit trees and compost bins. Rats will take tomatoes, melons and fallen peaches, and an open compost pile with food scraps feeds them all winter. Use a closed bin, keep meat, dairy and oil out of it, and pick produce as it ripens. Fence gardens with hardware cloth buried a few inches if rats are digging.
Around Russell Creek: Russell Creek Park · Russell Creek greenbelt · Cascade Dr. · Austin Dr. (ZIP 75025)
Questions from this part of town
Should I stop feeding birds?
You don't have to. Use a tray under the feeder and rake up spilled seed every few days.
Is creek water a disease risk?
The CDC says leptospirosis spreads through water or soil contaminated by animal urine. Keep kids and dogs out of standing water after storms.
Who handles rats on the greenbelt itself?
Public land is the city's. If you see heavy activity there, file a Fix It Plano request as the reporting guide describes.
Rats or mice in Russell Creek?
Call and describe what you're hearing or finding. Same-day appointments are often available. (972) 325-9652
Other service areas: West Plano, East Plano, Downtown Plano, Legacy West and Legacy, Willow Bend, Los Rios, Hunters Glen, Deerfield, Allen, Richardson, Murphy, Frisco, Wylie, Parker, Carrollton, The Colony.