Eight cities, five climate zones, one network.
Every city we cover gets the same field treatment: a long-form read on how rodents pressure that city specifically, a seasonal timeline, neighborhood-level notes, a vetted directory of the top three local operators, and plainly-answered questions from residents.
The cities we cover today.
Click through to a city's local field guide. Each one carries the same structure — pressure patterns, neighborhoods, vetted operators, FAQs — written by people who walk through those basements for a living.
Portland
POP. 635KNorway rats own the combined sewer system; roof rats are climbing east. Year-round pressure, two seasonal peaks.
Eugene
POP. 178KUniversity district churn, riparian-zone roof rats along the Willamette, and aggressive fall house-mouse incursions.
Corvallis
POP. 60KFarmland edges, OSU rentals, and basement crawl spaces — a mixed-pressure city with sharp October ramps.
Bend
POP. 105KDeer mice and pack rats lead here. Cold-snap incursions from October onward; lava-rock voids complicate exclusion.
Salem
POP. 178KA government-town daytime population plus older housing stock east of the river creates a steady Norway-rat baseline.
Albany
POP. 58KSurrounded by grass-seed fields; field-mouse pressure spikes after late-summer harvests and stubble burning.
Medford
POP. 87KRoof rats lead at the historical Oregon range edge. Pear-orchard cycles drive the August–December ramp; Bear Creek carries Norway rats.
Astoria
POP. 10KThe coastal-rainforest zone. Mild and wet year-round, so pressure never resets — climbing roof rats own the hillside Victorians; Norway rats hold the waterfront.
How our cities sort across Oregon's five zones.
Rodent pressure follows climate, not city limits. Here is the rough sorting we use when we talk about a region's species mix and seasonal calendar.
Coastal Rainforest
Mild, wet, flat pressure year-round. Climbing roof rats own the hillside Victorians; Norway rats hold the working waterfront. Rare freeze means pressure never resets.
Willamette Valley Floor
The bulk of our coverage. Sharp October–December ramp, Norway rats dominant in dense cores, house mice across older housing stock.
Cascade Foothills
Rural pressure with seasonal swings. Pack rats appear at higher elevations. We track but do not yet cover a city here.
High Desert
Deer mice and pack rats lead. Cold-snap incursions from October on; lava-rock crawl voids make exclusion the central tactic.
Rogue Valley
The historical Pacific-coast range edge for Rattus rattus. Year-round roof rat pressure tied to the fruit-tree calendar; Bear Creek carries Norway rats north–south.
Cities we're building toward next.
We add a city only when we have a working relationship with at least two operators there and a full season of field observations in hand. These are the ones in motion.
DON'T SEE YOUR TOWN? EMAIL THE EDITOR — WE CAN STILL POINT YOU TOWARD A VETTED OPERATOR.