Residential
ONE HOUSE, A DOZEN WAYS IN
Rats and mice don’t need an open door. A mouse fits through a gap the width of a pencil; a rat through a hole the size of a quarter. Every home offers dozens: the gap where a pipe enters under the sink, the open end of a roof tile, an unscreened foundation vent, the space around a dryer duct.
The usual answer is snap traps and bait stations — which handle the rodents already inside but do nothing about the next ones coming in, and put poison within reach of pets and kids. DETOUR® works on the entry points instead. Pharmaceutical-grade capsaicin in a weather-resistant matrix makes treated surfaces intolerable on contact, so rodents turn back at the threshold and stay away for 6–12 months.
Attic & Roofline Entry
The attic is prime real estate — warm, quiet, and full of insulation to burrow into. Rodents reach it through soffit and eave gaps, unscreened gable vents, and the fascia junctions where roof meets wall.
Once in, they shred insulation for nesting, foul it with droppings, and gnaw wiring run through the rafters. The scratching overhead at night is usually the first anyone notices — by then there’s a nest.
Treat the roofline entry points, not the attic floor. Run a bead of repellent gel along soffit gaps, eave junctions, and the frame of every gable and roof vent.
For wiring run across rafters and junction boxes in the attic, the aerosol Wire Protection Gel adds a durable film over exposed cable.
Place RatTrax® tunnels along attic runways to confirm whether traffic is active before and after you treat.
Tile Roofs, Stack Vents & Ridge Gaps
Barrel and S-tile roofs — the Spanish and Mediterranean style all over California — leave continuous open voids under the tiles at the eaves and ridge. To a roof rat, that’s a ready-made tunnel system running the length of the house.
Plumbing stack vents and their rubber boots add another way down into the wall cavity. Rats colonize the under-tile space, then work inward toward the attic through gaps a homeowner never sees from the ground.
Treat the open tile ends at the eave line and the ridge, plus the base of every plumbing stack vent where it penetrates the roof deck.
Repellent gel applied at these openings makes the under-tile void inhospitable without blocking the roof’s designed ventilation and drainage — important on a tile system you don’t want to seal shut.
Pair with bird stop or tile closures for a physical-plus-deterrent approach at the eave.
Kitchen, Pantry & Appliances
The kitchen is the destination. Rodents follow the food, and they get there through the gaps where plumbing and gas lines penetrate the cabinet base — then live in the warm dead space behind the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher.
Beyond the obvious contamination of food and surfaces, they chew appliance wiring and water lines, and the droppings in a food-prep area are a genuine health concern, not just a nuisance.
Treat the penetrations, not the pantry. Apply repellent gel where water supply lines, drain pipes, and gas lines pass through the back and floor of cabinets — the hidden holes that connect the kitchen to the wall cavity.
Treat the gaps around and behind built-in appliances where they meet the wall. Keep applications on structural surfaces, away from food-contact areas and dishware.
Because the components are food-grade, it belongs in a kitchen in a way that bait and rodenticide simply don’t.
Crawlspace, Foundation & Drainage
The crawlspace is the ground-floor way in. Rodents enter through unscreened or torn foundation vents, gaps at the weep screed, and — critically — through drainage they treat as a tunnel: French drain outlets, downspout terminations, and open pipe ends around the perimeter.
From the crawlspace they reach ductwork, subfloor wiring, and every pipe penetration up into the house. It’s the least-inspected part of the home and often the busiest.
Treat the perimeter entry points: foundation vent frames, the weep screed gap, sill-plate junctions, and the utility penetrations where pipes and conduit pass through the foundation.
At drainage outlets, treat the surrounding structure and pipe collar rather than the drain opening itself, so you deter travel without impeding flow.
Gel trays hold coverage on crawlspace soil and along interior foundation walls where there’s no clean surface to adhere to.
Garage & Storage Areas
The garage bridges outside and inside. Rodents slip under the worn rubber seal at the bottom of the roll-up door, then find exactly what they want: quiet clutter, stored cardboard, and pet food or birdseed in bags.
From there the shared wall into the house is one pipe penetration away. Garages are also where stored goods, holiday decorations, and paper get quietly shredded into nesting material.
Start at the garage door threshold — the single most common entry. Treat the frame and side jambs, and replace a worn bottom seal so the treated gap is also a tight one.
Treat wall penetrations along the shared house wall, and the base of shelving and storage against exterior walls. Store pet food and seed in sealed bins rather than original bags.
Gel trays tucked behind and beneath storage shelving extend coverage without treating your stored belongings.
Sheds, Garden & Outdoor Structures
Detached sheds, potting benches, and outdoor storage sit undisturbed for weeks — ideal for a rodent population to establish away from household traffic. They nest in stored cushions, mower housings, and bags of soil and fertilizer.
Left alone, the shed becomes a breeding reservoir that continually re-supplies pressure on the house itself, no matter how well you’ve sealed the main structure.
Treat the shed like a small building: door frame, floor-to-wall junctions, and any gap where the walls meet the base or roof. Run a bead of repellent gel along those seams.
For stored mowers and powered equipment, the aerosol Wire Protection Gel coats exposed wiring with a protective film through the off-season.
Store soil, seed, and fertilizer in sealed containers, and keep the shed on the same annual treatment pass as the house so it never becomes the weak link.