Serving Carrollwood
Roof rat and chinch bug help for Carrollwood homeowners
Rustling in the soffit at dusk and yellow rings spreading across the front lawn. Carrollwood homeowners tend to call us about two things, the rats living in the trees around the house and the chinch bugs living in the grass.
- Phones answered 24/7
- Office on East Busch Blvd, Tampa
- Area
- Carrollwood, Tampa
- County
- Hillsborough County
- Office
- East Busch Blvd, north Tampa
- Phones
- Answered 24/7
Carrollwood homes have a median build year of 1984, and the trees planted with them have had four decades to reach the roofline, which is how roof rats get into attics. In the lawn, chinch bugs start in sunny, dry spots along driveways and sidewalks and spread as yellow patches. We seal the roof entry points and check the turf edges for the bugs before treating either.
Local conditions
Trees, attics and St. Augustine lawns in Carrollwood
Greater Carrollwood counts about 35,586 residents and 9,647 owner-occupied homes, a 68.2% owner share, with a median build year of 1984. Trees planted around those houses have had four decades to grow, and wherever a limb rests on the roof, rats have a bridge. Roof rats nest off the ground in exactly those places, eat citrus right off the tree and chew attic wiring, and the Tampa Bay Times has reported them common across the Tampa area. We point out the branches that need cutting back, then close the half-inch gaps the rats are using.
Southern chinch bugs are the lawn insect we check for first on Carrollwood St. Augustine. Their damage starts as roughly round yellow patches in full sun and water-stressed spots, often by the driveway or the street edge, and infestations peak in early July, though the bugs stay active through the winter. Some populations shrug off insecticides that used to work, so we confirm the bugs are there, and that it is not simply a dry spot, before anything is applied.
Most called about
The usual Carrollwood calls
Rat & Mouse Control
Roof rats reaching the attic from overhanging oaks and palms.
Rodent Exclusion
Closing soffit, vent and roof-edge gaps on homes built in the 1980s.
Chinch Bug Control
Yellow patches on sunny St. Augustine edges by the drive.
Sod Webworm & Armyworm Control
Ragged, thinning grass from caterpillars that feed at night.
Attic Cleanup & Sanitizing
Droppings and soiled insulation left behind once the rats are out.
Lawn Fertilization
Feeding timed so the turf can recover after insect damage.
Getting to you
Getting to Carrollwood from East Busch Boulevard
Carrollwood lies northwest of our East Busch Boulevard office. For rat work, tell us where the attic access is and whether there is a pull-down ladder in the garage. For lawn calls, mention which days the sprinklers run, so we can time the treatment and tell you how long to hold off watering afterward.
Call (813) 471-5363Questions
What Carrollwood homeowners ask us
What people in Carrollwood ask us on the phone.
Ask us on the phoneUsually over a branch or palm frond touching the roof, then through a gap at the soffit, a vent or the roof edge. A half-inch opening is enough.
It helps, but rats already inside stay put unless they are trapped and the gaps are closed. We handle the sealing and trapping and tell you which limbs to cut.
Chinch patches spread in rough circles from sunny edges, and the grass at the border turns yellow rather than just dull. We part the blades at the edge of the patch to look for the bugs.
Some chinch bug populations resist insecticides that once controlled them. Confirming the bugs first and rotating what is applied gives the lawn a better chance.
National figures put lawn insect treatment at $0.34 to $0.44 per square foot, with a minimum lawn size. We measure the turf and quote before we treat.
Talk to a technician
Pests in Carrollwood? Call now.
Tell us what you found and where. We will tell you what it probably is and when a technician can be there.