Rat Control in Old Louisville

Red brick Victorian mansion with turrets on a tree-lined street in Old Louisville — Victorian brick in Old Louisville. Big basements, carriage houses and alleys out back.

Old Louisville went up mostly in the 1880s and 1890s as a suburb for the city's wealthier families, and most of what they built is still standing. It's often called the largest preservation district in the country that's almost entirely Victorian. Most of the buildings are brick. A lot of the big houses have been split into apartments, and there are shotgun houses on streets like Myrtle and small 1920s cottages on some of the courts.

All of that is good for rats. Deep basements with old brick walls, carriage houses and garages off the alleys, shared trash areas behind apartment houses and plenty of mature trees.

Basements and carriage houses

The basements under Old Louisville houses are big and old. Mortar has softened over a century, old coal chutes and windows have been patched over more than once, and pipes have been run through the walls by every owner since. Rats find the weak spots. Carriage houses and garages along the alleys are often the first building they move into, then they go for the main house. Rat proofing is a big part of most jobs here, and it takes longer on a house this size.

If the house is divided into units, the rats don't care where one apartment ends. The owner usually needs to handle the basement and the building as a whole. Tenants should tell the landlord in writing.

Courts, parks and the trash

The walking courts like St. James and Belgravia are pretty, but the alleys behind them are where the carts and dumpsters live. Central Park and the trees along Fourth and Sixth give rats cover. When the St. James Court Art Show fills the neighborhood the first weekend of October, the extra food waste is a buffet. Keep cart lids shut and don't set bags on the ground next to them.

Check where the alley side of the garage meets the slab
Look at basement windows and old coal chute doors
Keep apartment trash in carts, never in bags on the ground

Around Old Louisville: St. James Court · Belgravia Court · Central Park · Fourth Street · Conrad-Caldwell House · The Filson Historical Society

Common questions

I rent an apartment in an old house. Who handles rats?

Tell your landlord in writing first. Rats in a divided house use shared basements and walls, so the building needs to be treated together. You can still call us if you want to talk it through.

Also serving The Highlands, Germantown, Crescent Hill and Clifton, St. Matthews, Jeffersontown, Middletown, Prospect, Shively, Okolona, Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station.