I have an elderly woman who live across the road alone after her boyfriend, a buddy of mine, died. She lives in a ranch house built in the early 80's. She says she does not have a mouse problem in the downstairs but Orkin found problems in her attic. They gave her some postage stamp sized photos of purported damage to the insulation, which they were supposedly eating, and an estimate of $12,000 to redo the insulation, take care of the mice, and install different "breathers" they thought the mice were using to access the house.

A guy from Orkin stopped by again and reduced the price to $5,000 which did not include replacement of the insulation, just cleaning and adding to the old stuff. She was not told how long their "service" went for.

This all seems really pricey to me. I figured someone on here might be able to let me know if this is a realistic estimate of if they were trying to skin her along with the mice.

Moosetrot

THEY KNOW they can bill homeowners' insurance for most of the bill and don't give a darn.

Just talked to relative that has a pest control co. do mouse control at her residence for approximately 120.00 a year. I think it is just enclosed poison bait stations around outside of house they replenish as needed. Sure sounds like they are overcharging in your neighbors case.

Thought insurance was not paying for wildlife stuff these days.


I would have wildlife company Look at it Big Bug over upsells and Over charges
. for Shoddy work

Sounds like a scam to me. A pest control service can take care of the mice and seal the access points. An elderly woman doesn't need to be spending that kind of money for insulation.

There is a way around the insulation cost to remediate if the problem is not too severe. I've done it. And charged a decent buck but still VERY competitive.

I have a somewhat expensive full grade certified HEPA vacuum for bio-hazard removal. Taking a 16" X 16" piece of hardware cloth (1/2" mesh) trimmed neatly with no wires poking out on the edges , lay it flat on the insulation and vacuum through it. It gets the bulk of the problem. I have charged $1500 to do this to an standard attic while wearing a Tyvek suit and respirator, gloves and such. The vacuum cost me $800.

I am going to talk to her today and get my hands on the written estimate(s). By what she described to me they are saying the mice have eaten some of the insulation in the attic. She said they do not have mice anywhere in the living are which seems odd to me.

Moosetrot

Sounds like you or somebody else needs to take a peek in her attic. Just because they showed her pictures doesn't mean they were taken in her attic. They might be trying to take advantage of her.

Just talked to her. She is going to call the guy who replaced her roof to take a look in the attic and see what the real story is. If need be she will contact a different exterminator or two to take care of the mice. The roofer is a guy I know and trust fully to assess the insulation damage as well as the access points. He has done roofing and home construction his whole life and is a reputable guy.

The pictures they showed her may be of stuff from a long time ago. It was built in the early 80's but they (she) lived there around 15-18 years so we really don't know the history of the mouse or whatever situation. She has a very large attached garage with lots of shelving ,etc. which sometimes draws in bats and could be an access point for mice.

The fact she does not have any problems with mice in her living areas (food sources) is telling me this may not be a mouse problem. Time will tell.

Thanks for all the input!

Moosetrot

If there is even mice in the attic, they'd be downstairs also. The varmints need to eat. Probably a scam. Go in the attic and see if there is any mouse droppings. I'd want more evidence than just chewed insulation. Way too many scumbags preying on the elderly.