Rodent Removal and Cleanup in Yakima: How Peak Pro and Jerry's Pest Service Work Together

When rodents get into a Yakima home, two separate jobs have to happen: someone has to remove the rodents, and someone has to clean up the contamination they leave behind. Jerry's Pest Service handles the removal. Peak Pro Home Services seals the home and cleans up the mess. Neither company does the other's job, which is exactly why the partnership works. You get a licensed pest control expert for the infestation and a licensed general contractor for the entry points, the mess, the damage, and the health risk left behind.

Why one rodent problem needs two companies

A rodent problem is really two problems, and most companies only solve one of them. Pest control removes the live rodents. It does not remove the droppings, urine, chewed insulation, and contaminated nesting material packed into an attic or crawl space, and it does not rebuild the ducting or structure the rodents ruined. Cleanup and remediation is a different trade, with different equipment, different safety standards, and different training. Asking one company to do both usually means one half gets done well and the other half gets done poorly. Splitting the work between two specialists is how both halves get done right.

What Jerry's Pest Service does: gets the rodents out

Jerry's Pest Service removes the rodents. Known around town as Yakima's assassins for hire, Jerry's is a local, family-run pest control company that finds the infestation, removes the rodents, and treats the property so they do not come back. They own the live problem: the trapping, the removal, and the pest treatment that stops the activity. Pest control is a licensed trade in Washington, so removal has to be handled by a licensed pest professional, which is worth confirming any time you hire one, and it is one more reason removal is a separate job from the cleanup. Once the rodents are gone and the activity has stopped, the property is ready for the building work.

What Peak Pro does: seals the home, cleans up, and repairs

Peak Pro Home Services handles the building side. As a licensed general contractor and certified remediation team, we close the entry points rodents used to get in, often a gap smaller than a quarter, then remove contaminated insulation and nesting material, clean and disinfect, and repair the damage to insulation, ducting, vapor barrier, structure, and anything they chewed through.

Rodent droppings and urine are a real biological hazard, not a broom-and-bag job. Deer mice, common across Yakima's rural and orchard areas, can carry hantavirus, and the virus spreads when contaminated dust from urine, droppings, or nests gets stirred into the air and breathed in. The CDC specifically warns against sweeping or vacuuming dry rodent waste for that reason. You can read the CDC's guidance on its About Hantavirus page. That is why our work follows remediation practices borrowed from IICRC S500, S520, and S540, using containment, HEPA filtration, and full protective equipment.

You can read more on our rodent waste remediation in Yakima and how we handle attics and crawl spaces.

The order the work happens in

The sequence matters, because doing it out of order wastes money and re-contaminates clean work. A job typically goes like this:

1. Inspect and plan. Both teams look at the property and map the activity, the entry points, and the contamination.
2. Seal the access, called exclusion. Before anything is removed, the openings that let rodents in get closed so nothing new can get inside while the work happens. This is the one step where Jerry's and Peak Pro sometimes overlap. As a general contractor, Peak Pro handles the structural side, custom-building covers and closures that a quick patch cannot match.
3. Remove the rodents. With the space sealed, Jerry's removes what is inside and confirms the activity has stopped.
4. Clean and remediate. Peak Pro removes contaminated insulation and material, cleans and disinfects, and hauls it out safely.
5. Repair. Ducting, insulation, vapor barrier, and structure get replaced and sealed so the space is whole and healthy again.

Most projects run a few weeks start to finish, driven mainly by the removal phase. Every home is different, so treat this as the shape of the project rather than a fixed schedule.

A real Yakima example, in Josh's words

Here is what this looks like on an actual job. A homeowner out among the orchards had heard rodents years ago, assumed the problem was gone, and then had one come right up an HVAC duct and into the house. Owner-operator Josh Shoemaker explains what his crew found:

This homeowner lives out among the orchards. They had heard rodents years ago, figured they were gone, and then one came right up an HVAC duct and into the house through a loose floor register. When we got underneath, we found why. A previous contractor had closed off a kitchen vent during a remodel and just set the old duct on the crawl space floor instead of removing it. For years that open duct was pumping heated and cooled air straight into the crawl space. In the middle of summer, cool air was pouring out of nearly every vent. They had been paying to condition the crawl space and the outdoors, and it gave the rodents a highway right into the home.

Here is how the two companies handled it:

1. Peak Pro inspected the crawl space vents, found almost all of them failing, and custom-built seven covers that let air move but shut rodents out.
2. Jerry's removed the rodents living in the crawl space.
3. Peak Pro replaced and sealed the ducting so the rodent-fouled ducts were no longer blowing that air into the home, then removed and replaced the contaminated insulation and urine-stained vapor barrier using the right chemicals, protective equipment, containment, and air scrubbing, until the home was clean and healthy again.

What this looks like for homeowners

For homeowners, the two companies hand the job off so you do not have to run two projects. Peak Pro seals the access, Jerry's removes the rodents, and Peak Pro clears the contamination and repairs the damage, so your attic or crawl space is safe and clean again. You make two calls, and the teams coordinate the timing so the cleanup happens after the activity has stopped, not while rodents are still coming and going.

What this looks like for home sellers

For sellers, handling both the removal and the documented cleanup protects your sale. Rodent evidence in an attic or crawl space is one of the findings that stalls a deal or triggers a renegotiation. When Jerry's clears the infestation and Peak Pro remediates and documents the cleanup, you can show a buyer and their inspector that the problem was handled properly, not just sprayed and forgotten. That documentation is often what keeps a closing on track.

What this looks like for landlords

For landlords, the split keeps your rental habitable and your records clean. A rodent complaint in a rental is a health and habitability issue, and in Washington that carries real responsibility. Jerry's removes the rodents, Peak Pro seals and remediates the property, and you get documentation for your file and your tenant. It is the same reason many Yakima landlords already use Peak Pro for mold and moisture on their rentals: the work is done to standard and it is documented.

About Jerry's Pest Service

Jerry's Pest Service is the pest control side of this partnership. They handle rodent removal for both homes and businesses across the Yakima Valley, residential and commercial, and they are glad to team up with Peak Pro so customers get the whole problem solved, removal and cleanup together, instead of falling through the cracks between two trades. If rodents are the problem, they are who you call to get them out.

Reach Jerry's Pest Service at (509) 594-7117 or jerryspestservice.com. Ask for Jerry or Jessica.

Real talk: what to know before you start

A few honest points, because they save people money and frustration. Do not start cleanup while rodents are still active, or you will be cleaning a space that gets re-contaminated within days. Do not treat rodent droppings as a do-it-yourself vacuum job, for the hantavirus reason above. And every situation is priced uniquely, so there is no flat rate anyone can quote from a blog post. Both companies give free estimates, and that is the right way to learn what your specific project involves.

Get both halves handled

If you have rodents in your Yakima home, the order is seal, remove, then clean. Call Jerry's Pest Service at (509) 594-7117 to remove the rodents. Then call Josh Shoemaker at Peak Pro Home Services at (509) 537-1842 to get the exclusion, cleanup, and repairs on the calendar and to request a free estimate. Peak Pro serves Yakima, Selah, Union Gap, West Valley, and the surrounding Central Washington communities.

Frequently asked questions

Does Peak Pro exterminate rodents?

No. Peak Pro seals the home, cleans up, and repairs what rodents leave behind. For the removal itself, we work with Jerry's Pest Service, who are licensed for pest control and handle the trapping, removal, and treatment. We seal access before removal and clean up after.

Does Jerry's Pest Service clean up rodent droppings and damage?

No. Jerry's removes the rodents. The cleanup, contamination removal, and repairs are Peak Pro's part of the job. That clean split is why the two companies partner instead of competing.

Why can't I just clean up the mess myself?

Rodent droppings and urine are a biological hazard. Deer mice in our area can carry hantavirus, and the CDC warns that vacuuming or sweeping dry droppings can send contaminated dust into the air, which is exactly how people get sick. See the CDC's About Hantavirus page. Contaminated insulation usually needs full removal and disposal, not surface cleaning. Professional remediation uses containment, HEPA filtration, and protective equipment to handle it safely.

How much does rodent cleanup cost in Yakima?

Every situation is priced uniquely, because it depends on the size of the area, how hard it is to access, how much material has to be removed, and what repairs are needed. Both companies offer free estimates, so a quick call is the fastest way to find out.

Who do I call first?

Call the pest side first. Jerry's Pest Service confirms the infestation and handles removal, and Peak Pro coordinates the exclusion before and the cleanup and repairs after. If you are not sure, call either one of us and we will point you in the right direction.