Do you have rats and mice in your AC Chase? Are the noises the rats and mice are making in your AC chase driving you crazy?  Rats and mice tend to get in some of the most inconvenient places to make their nests. During the winter they are trying to stay warm and during the summer they are trying to stay cool. What better place to do that than around the air condition unit or chase. Most of the time when people install air conditioning units they are not concerned with animal damage.

Rats and mice can chew through various materials. Their teeth are constantly growing. They have to chew constantly to keep their teeth filed down so they can chew properly. Chewing on materials inside of your attic helps to regulate the size of their teeth. If they didn't regulate their teeth size they would get too long and hinder them from getting necessary food. Rats and mice often chew wires, wood, duct-work, plastic, and just about any other material they can get to. If they chew through the wiring in your ac chase it can disrupt your service. Then you will have to call an a/c repairman to fix and rewire everything which can end up being very costly.

It also does not help that they can reproduce faster than most animals. Rats and mice breed all year long. A female can produce 7 litters a year and can have anywhere from 2 to 14 young in a litter. The gestation period for the female is around 21 to 26 days. She can mate again shortly after giving birth. Baby rats are born blind and furless and they grow rapidly. They can be weaned in just 3 weeks.

A successful pair of rats can produce up to 1500 young in a single year.  And that's just those two rats!  Their offspring can produce even more rats. They commonly will live together in groups so it is easy for their numbers to become overwhelming. This is why you often hear people refer to it as an infestation. Their numbers can rapidly increase in a short amount of time.

This is how a rat infestation can happen quickly in homes and businesses.  Rats and mice can quickly overwhelm a single home. It is always best to address the problem as soon as you notice any signs of wildlife on your own property.

Wild animals are attracted to vents and are lead to them more often in the winter. Often, they can feel the source of heat more easily during this period. They are looking for a quiet, safe place to have their young. They will bring nesting material for when they have their litter. This nesting material can be a fire hazard as well.

Nesting material is almost always made of highly flammable material. If there was enough heat or if something created a spark this could create a house fire. Most homes run off of one a/c unit unless you have a larger home. This means all the vents would be connected. The ventilation system would send fire or smoke in one area and send it to other areas of the house. This could turn into a dangerous situation in a short amount of time.

A/C vents are easy to access tunnels for rodents. They can get to any area of the property by way of the vents. People can often hear them running around and the sound echoing from room to room. They can even hear them chewing and gnawing in the vents.

Rodents will generally leave droppings wherever they have been. When the vents are circulating the air they are also pushing the feces around and stirring up particles. This means you are most likely breathing in rat or mice feces and you don’t even know it. This can be very dangerous because of all of the bacteria rats and mice carry. This can make you extremely sick and can go unnoticed and untreated. You may also mistake this to be a typical cold or flu. 

Sometimes rats and mice can get stuck in the ventilation system. The vents go throughout the house and can go floor to floor. If the screen on the a/c chase is tight, the rat may not be able to get out or find its way back to the opening it came in through. Since vents can go to the ground rats can fall into the bottom and get stuck as well. If you hear scratching or gnawing that stays in one area then you may have an animal that is stuck.

It is better to try to get an animal out when you hear it rather than letting it die. In the heat of the summer, a rodent can die in a day or two from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Once an animal dies the smell can linger for weeks and can be extremely hard to locate.

Locating an animal can be tricky, especially when it comes to rats. This is because rats are carnivorous and they will eat their wounded or dead. Once the animal is removed we deodorize the area with a commercial deodorizer.

Rodents can carry several types of bacteria and germs that can make you and your family very ill.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe illness caused from exposure to the droppings or urine of deer mice that carry the virus. About 1- 5 hantavirus cases are reported each year in Washington State and about one third of the cases have been fatal. It is important to take precautions when cleaning up an enclosed space such as a shed, cabin or trailer where mice have nested or rodent droppings are present.  

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Leptospira that infects both humans and a wide range of animals. It occurs worldwide but is more common in temperate and tropical areas of the world. Some people infected with leptospirosis will have no symptoms at all, and some people will become severely ill. Some wild and domestic animals, such as cattle, pigs, dogs, raccoons, and rodents, carry the Leptospira bacteria and pass them in their urine. Soil or water contaminated with infected urine are the most common causes of human infection.



Plague is a serious infection of humans caused by a germ called Yersinia pestis. It is usually caused by the bite of a flea that has fed on an infected wild animal, such as a rat, chipmunk or prairie dog. It usually causes large sores and abscesses in the glands of the arms and legs. Dogs, and especially cats, can also become infected and can spread the disease to their human companions. People and domestic animals like dogs and cats could be bitten by infected fleas while traveling to other areas of the country. Plague is treatable with antibiotics.



Tularemia is a bacterial disease caused by Francisella tularensis and is most commonly found in wild animals (e.g., wild rodents, squirrels, rabbits, hares and beavers). People and their pets can become ill from tularemia by coming into contact with infected dead or ill animals through animal bites and exposure to contaminated blood or raw meat. Tularemia can also be transmitted by the bite of an infected arthropod (e.g. ticks, biting flies), exposure to contaminated water or soil, and inhalation of bacteria. One to 10 cases of tularemia in people are reported every year. To prevent exposures to tularemia, don't handle dead or ill animals; avoid animal bites, tick and deer fly bites; and avoid direct bare-hand contact with blood and raw meat from wild animals. Don't drink untreated water in areas where tularemia is known to occur in wild animals.

If we completely seal the property we can guarantee against re-entry. The way we seal and trap together we can guarantee the removal of the wildlife. Once we seal your home the animals must go to our traps for a food source.

At Apex Wildlife Control, we also offer a fecal cleaning and deodorization service.  Our technicians can have your home feeling clean and fresh again in a few short hours. If your insulation is ruined then we will let you know this upfront.  An attic restoration may be required if you have heavily soiled insulation from rat fecal and urine.

 So if you have rats or mice in your AC chase, give us a call today!  Our skilled technicians are here to help you get rid of those rodents for good!