Rat Patrol

I highly recommend Rat Patrol and Garland. He is very professional and knowledgable. He always arrives on time and, unlike some other companies out there, honors his warranty if you ever need to call him.

I have been doing business with Garland and his Rat Patrol business for 20 years in 3 different houses. He was at my house today. In all that time he has been consistently reliable, honest, and effective at dealing with my rat problems. He seals up rat entry points; instructs husbands who love to feed birds that leave seed on the ground (which attracts rats); sets traps (baited with peanut butter and raisins); and comes back a week later to check the traps and take away the dead rats caught in the traps. He is extremely experienced and persistent, and he honors his 2 year warranty. I respect his expertise and his integrity, and he is very pleasant to deal with. I wouldn’t call any other rat control company.

If you’ve ever tried to solve a rat problem yourself, you know that it’s a game of wits, detail, and determination. I’ve got all three, but nothing to match Garland’s. The price is very reasonable considering his expertise and efficiency… it would have taken me ten times as long to do the job, and a lot of that time would have been spent in crawlspaces. TOTAL PEACE OF MIND is what this service is about, which is worth every penny. The cherry on top of this rat sundae is that Garland is a cool guy and easy to work with. Thank you, Rat Patrol.

Garland is wonderful! calm, knowledgeable, informative and highly competent. He trapped rats where I didn’t need to see or hear them, then reported the result. What a relief not to actually see the critters! The work is guaranteed for 2 years and was good even when rats reentered because of a failed retaining wall: not a failure of Rat Patrol. I cannot praise Garland and Rat Patrol enough.

2÷21÷15. I can recommend the Rat Patrol Inc. Mr. Garland Buckner was recommended to me by a friend whose aunt has been using his services for many years, as she lives in an older home with a crawlspace below the main bottom floor and nearby tall trees that also shade her house; there are many different possible entry points above and below. In Jun 2014, Mr. Buckner came to my house, inspected the top roof lines & bottom foundation lines, injected foam into a low opening beside the garage, and installed mesh screen with injected foam on each side of the front-​entry roof undercut. I watched him while he worked, and he appeared methodical and experienced. Despite his first & second visits, mice were not completely deterred and continued to enter my house months later due to the type of concrete tile roof I had. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the office manager, Teresa, who was understanding and helpful; without any hassle, I requested and received an appropriate rebate on my initial payment and cancelled his warranty. I received benefit of his professional inspection & advice, and several openings were sealed-​off. I can attest to this company’s ethical behavior and its willingness to meet customer expectations. James in Pleasanton.

Thought they were good at first, but we’ve paid them for multiple years and their methods failed miserably. They never properly sealed our home and we had to call another company to fix the problem, once and for all. AVOID!

I hired rat patrol nearly 2 years ago and the technician caught a rat in our house. No more rat until recently, I saw some mouse dropping at my oven so I called rat patrol again. Luckily, I still under the two years warranty. I called and got response in next day. I had an appointment one week after I called which is fast. They are really busy. The technician came on time without charge as they promise.
Highly recommend rat patrol!

Garland and the folks at Rat Patrol are awesome! About a year ago, I was mortified to discover that I had rats in my house, having come face to face with a critter in my basement. Garland took care of everything over a couple of visits for a single price, sealed off the access, and gave me an education on rat behavior while he was at it. No more rats.
About a year later, I found rat droppings inside the house and called Rat Patrol again. Turns out, the hills are crawling with them. I thought I might have to twist their arm to stand by their guarantee, but that was not the case — they honored their policy and did the work for free without me having to say anything. Turns out, this new critter had nothing to do with the previous job; an enterprising rat had just chewed its way in through a new entry point. After that first visit from Garland, I was rat-​free again and have been since.
Top marks — highly recommended. I love that you can trust the work and that the guarantee is the real deal.
EDIT: For those of you wondering… once rats have made their way into your home, the likelihood of having a rat issue again at some point is higher. Because there’s a trail of pheromones leading to your house that tells other rats, «THIS is where you want to be! Here’s a safe and lovely rat palace!». And rats, if they persist, can chew through metal. This is why the guarantee matters.

I hired Garlan to rat proof my roof. The cost was $ 500 and his initial visit was less than 45 minutes. Supposedly the cost is so high because it includes follow-​ups to check or reset traps. The two times I needed him to come out for issues I was having, he couldn’t make it to my house.
The first time my house was full of flies for 2 days and he couldn’t come and clean out the trap for 2 weeks-​all booked up.
The second time, I was selling my house and having an open house the next day, and as bad luck would have it there was a smelly dead rat in the trap. My entire garage smelled horrible. I called the receptionist and explained the urgency of my situation, but she just said «sorry, he doesn’t work weekends».
Luckily my realtor was able to find someone who came out and removed the smelly rodent before my open house. When I talked to Garlen about it he just said «well i don’t usually work weekends». Well I would think that this would qualify as one of the unusual weekends that you would work!
If you use Rat Patrol keep in mind that the cost is $ 500 for 30 minutes (in my case) work and that’s probably going to be the extent of it. It was for me anyway.

Any one can OFFER a warranty. The trick is to HONOR the warranty. Rat patrol did just that. It’s sad that in this day and age a consumer expects to get a hssle when they want vendors to honor a promise, or come back to correct something. Not a problem here. I called. They were friendly and scheduled me right away. Job done immediately. No fuss no muss, set it and forget it. No more Rats.

I received a response from Rat Patrol yesterday saying they had actually tried to contact me a couple of days ago. Never got the message, but okay.
The message came after I had given up on a response this week and retrieved the dead rat myself to put out for the weekly garbage pickup. Nasty, but oh well.
Garland just came by and ended up picking up a rather desiccated additional carcass from the attic. He rechecked the perimeter, sealed up some potential new entry points, and also apologized for the delay in response (which I appreciated very much) as they are currently being flooded with calls. (Apparently, as the season gets colder, tree rats become more intent on finding shelter indoors).
I should say that Garland was great during his first visit as well. He provided thorough explanations of what he was doing and why. His services are in high demand though. Initially, the earliest booking we could get was over a month out. However, somebody canceled at the last minute so we were able to take their slot.
We chose Rat Patrol initially based off of the good reviews and the 2-​year guarantee. Turns out we needed that guarantee.
Further updates to come as we see how this all turns out.
Stay tuned…

We changed to Rat Patrol after the previous company took forever to return our calls and finally not at all, even for new business. What a difference! Rat Patrol called back within 24 hours. We had an ongoing rat infestation because they kept chewing through and getting into our attic. Every time we heard something, we called and they came right out. No poisons, just persistent baiting and trapping. I like their philosophy — it’s not possible to get rid of every rat in the world so the goal is to keep them outside and out of the house. I recommend the Rat Patrol without reservation.

Garland is a miracle worker at finding rat entry points my husband missed in his searches. Thank God for Rat Patrol! I wish I could give six stars, because during the months my husband and I spent trying to outfox those roof rats ourselves, I called Rat Patrol two or three times, and the wonderful woman who answers the phone (I’m so sorry I can’t remember her name, but she is awesome) gave me FREE advice– good advice– and was always friendly, understanding, and never pushy. In the end, we couldn’t get rid of the rats ourselves, but Garland was able to find those very hidden entry points very quickly. Fabulous service, 2 year guarantee, it’s absolutely worth the money. Thanks, Rat Patrol!

We had rat issues in our attic. Garland is fantastic. After thoroughly assessing our home and providing helpful information on how the rats may be getting in and the step-​by-​step process he would take to make sure no rats would come again — 2 visits later, our home is completely rodent free. Very professional and patient. If you have rat issues and live in the tri-​valley area, and are looking for complete peace of mind (an amazing 2 years warranty is provided with their service) I would definitely highly recommend Rat Patrol!

Just had a follow up visit.
Worked with these guys last year and my house is still covered under their warranty. They came out right on time as promised and patched a new hole and set traps. These guys are the greatest.

We recently moved to a house in the Orinda hills that’s basically out in the woods. A few weeks ago we were awakened by what sounded like a band of conga players in our bedroom wall. Called the Rat Patrol and set up an appointment. I got on the waiting/​cancellation list because their first available appointment was over a month away (it’s rat season, after all).
In the meantime, Theresa, who was very nice and seemed extremely knowledgable, told me to set a few traps against the walls near where I heard the conga players. We caught one rat, and then lo and behold about a week later they called and said they’d had a last minute cancellation.
Garland arrived and got right to work checking the perimeter of the house with a mirror and flashlight to identify any and all holes a rat might fit through. He sealed them up and set more traps on the theory that when the rats can’t get back outside for food they’ll be more attracted to the traps.
He told me he’d be back at 8AM the following Wednesday (today) and the doorbell rang at 8:02 (which I love in a contractor). We’d caught one more rat, which he disposed of, then he reset the traps and gave me instructions for what to do and if/​when to call.
I agree that in the best possible world the rats would be dealt with by natural means but it’s not natural for them or healthy for us if they’re nesting in my house. I love the fact that Garland uses snap traps and not poison for the same reason: poisoned rats get eaten and then we’ve got poisoned owls, hawks et al.
I have total confidence in his approach and knowledge of rodent control, and he obviously does too because his services come with a TWO YEAR guarantee. The $ 500 flat fee (varies a little depending on your home) is perfectly reasonable considering the expertise, follow-​up and assurance that it paid for.
The Rat Patrol got the conga players out of my bedroom wall, and for that I am eternally grateful (and well-​rested).

Garland did a great job rat-​proofing the house we are renting. The property management company had initially sent an exterminator who used poison, which I wasn’t too happy about. After several months of the rats simply eating all the poison and continuing to reproduce and nest in our attic, they called Rat Patrol. Garland spent over an hour checking every inch of the house to see where the rats were getting in. He blocked off multiple entry points on the roof and we haven’t heard any rats since. I hear their prices are higher than the regular exterminators, but for the detailed work and guarantee, it definitely seems worth it. Garland obviously cares a lot about his work and getting the job done right.

Theresa and Garland can execute my rats any time.
I’ve been dealing with rats for 2 months. I’ve called for tons of quotes and have been trying to take them out myself, with moderate success.
Rat Patrol has the lowest price and best service I’ve found.
Theresa had me the minute we were on the phone and she answered all my questions to alleviate some of my concerns of infestation. She calls back promptly and was extremely courteous.
Garland is the man. He loves his job and it shows. He’s transparent about what he’s doing and he’ll crawl into any space at all if he thinks a rat might be able to get through there. He sealed my entire house in an hour with that spray foam and some wire patches.
The bottom line… my rats are gone. Completely. And after only $ 500. Plus I have the peace of mind with the 2-​year warrrantee.
Don’t get better than Rat Patrol.

11/​24/​2010:
Garland came over very recently. He asked some questions to help us understand what might be happening, then he explained what type of service he would provide, what he was going to do, and how he was going to do it. He was very professional and quick. Took care of the holes in the building, set some traps, and made a follow up appointment before leaving. Payment was not the first thing he talked about. Though we decided on him because of all the recommendations, he was as real as the reviews say. Very professional. I’ll update again after his next visit.
10/​30/​2011:
I still stand by my original assessment. We heard the critters running around earlier this year and had to call Rat Patrol under warranty. They called back in a few days and Garland came over again to check all the openings and reseal where the rodents had broken in. Garland isn’t going to flatter you. He tells it to you straight about what he can and cannot do, and he’ll do what he says he’ll do. In our case, we share walls with our neighbors and the squirrels/​rats were coming in through the walls, which is nearly impossible to correct without major reconstruction. But he’ll tell you your options and correct what he can. Still professional as ever.
I will say that they do get very busy during autumn, so be prepared to wait a week or so for an appointment. Also, Rat Patrol doesn’t handle infestations and clean ups. (But he will remove the dead critters that he finds. Thank goodness!!!)

Rat Patrol is a man named Garland Buckner. If you google around, you’ll find lots of reference to him in news articles about rats in the Bay Area; a typical example is
. There are also online reviews in various places — all very positive.
About 10 days ago, we noticed a rat running around in our kitchen. Not good! I had no idea what to do, and didn’t find any useful (or cool or funny) recommendations on Unilocal.I knew that poisoning the critters was a bad idea for environmental reasons, and also because it’s easy to end up with dead decaying rats in inaccessible places. I read
for general information. This is a good document with lots of helpful advice, but I stopped at the paragraph labeled «Trapping» because I was seriously disinclined to set traps around myself. (I also didn’t want to buy a cat.)
To clear my mind, I walked out onto the street, still thinking about rats. I immediately saw a truck with the license plate RATZZZZ — was that a hallucination? Negative: it was Garland Buckner, who was paying a professional call on a neighbor. (When rats come to your house, they’re probably out in force in your area.) I introduced myself and asked him if he «did» rats for a living. «I do! Got a rodent problem?» I told him that I did, and we set up an appointment.
Rat Patrol charges a flat fee of $ 500 and guarantees that it’ll keep you rat-​free for two years. Garland first inspects the structure, figures out where the rats are coming in and seals the holes. When he’s done, you’ve got bottled-​up rats. If you make sure that they don’t have access to your food, the bottled up rats will get mighty hungry, and Garland’s traps will start looking good to them. That’s the plan: trap the rats and pull them out of the house; keep going until there is no more activity.
An aside: I was a bit disappointed when I realized that the traps are spring traps that kill their victims; initially, I had the idealistic idea that the traps would imprison the rats, who would then be set free in the forest. I’ve gotten over this disappointment.
In our case, Garland found and sealed up a rat hole in a spot that I never could have accessed because of thorny rose bushes that had grown away from a neighbor’s house. He set his traps. Now, one week into the process, we’ve collected one animal and have observed that all six of the traps were sprung. Garland came by this morning to initiate round two. We’ll keep going until the problem seems to have been solved.