Cooper-Young, Midtown Memphis

Rodent control in Cooper-Young

Cooper-Young packs old houses, restaurants and bars into a few walkable blocks. Call to reach an independent local technician for rats or mice in a Cooper-Young home or storefront.

Call (901) 256-2861 Free call · Same-day appointments are often available

A historic district with old houses and busy corners

Cooper-Young is a historic district in Midtown, named for the corner of Cooper Street and Young Avenue. The blocks around that corner hold restaurants, bars, coffee shops and small stores, and the streets behind them are lined with older homes, many of them modest cottages and bungalows on crawl spaces.

You enter the neighborhood under the Cooper-Young Trestle, a 150-foot steel sculpture by Jill Turman, dedicated in 2000, that shows the kinds of houses and shops found nearby. Spanish War Memorial Park sits at East Parkway and Central Avenue.

Where rodents come from in Cooper-Young

The restaurant strip is a steady food source. Dumpsters, grease bins and back doors along Cooper and Young feed Norway rats, and the rats nest in nearby yards, sheds and under slab porches.

The houses give roof rats an easy time. Tall trees, overhead utility lines and old wood soffits are common. Small cottages tend to have shallow attics where rats nest right above the bedrooms, so the noise is hard to miss.

The Cooper-Young Festival, held each September on the second Saturday after Labor Day, draws huge crowds to the neighborhood. The extra trash for a few days is short-lived, but homes right on the festival streets sometimes notice more rat activity afterward.

Seeing signs in Cooper-Young?

(901) 256-2861

Sheds, porches and backyard cover

Many Cooper-Young lots are narrow, with sheds, detached garages and fenced backyards packed close together. Rats move along fence tops and between sheds without crossing open ground. Slab porches and old concrete steps are favorite burrow spots. Before a technician visits, clear stored items away from shed walls and look under the porch edge with a flashlight for smooth, packed holes. Point out compost bins, chicken coops or dog runs; those feed rats and change where traps go.

What to ask for on a Cooper-Young call

Ask the technician to inspect the attic, roofline and crawl space, and to look at sheds and detached garages. For storefronts, ask about exterior stations by the dumpster and sealing at the back door. Restaurants should read the restaurant rodent control page, since Tennessee's food rules limit bait indoors.

Before you call

What to say when you call

Your call goes to an independent rodent control provider serving Cooper-Young. Two minutes of detail up front gets you a straighter answer on timing and price.

Tell them

✓Rats or mice, if you can tell. Mouse droppings are rice-sized; rat droppings run about half an inch or longer.
✓Where the activity is: attic, ceiling, walls, kitchen, crawl space, garage, yard or under the slab.
✓How long it has been going on, and whether the noise or droppings are getting worse.
✓The building: brick ranch, Midtown bungalow on a crawl space, townhome, apartment, restaurant or warehouse.
✓Your neighborhood or ZIP code and the times that work for a visit.
✓Anything already tried, like snap traps, store bait, foam in a gap or a past service.

Ask them

?Is the company chartered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (or licensed in Mississippi, for DeSoto County)?
?Will the technician seal the entry points, or only set traps and bait?
?How many return visits does the price cover, and what does an extra one cost?
?Can I see the plan and the quote in writing before work starts?
?What goes inside the house, and how is it kept away from kids and pets?

Call (901) 256-2861

FAQ

Cooper-Young rodent questions

Why do I hear rats right above my bedroom?

Many Cooper-Young cottages have low, shallow attics, so roof rats nest just above the ceiling. The fix is trapping in the attic, then sealing the soffits and vents they used.

Can restaurants nearby cause rats at my house?

Yes. Rats that feed at dumpsters often nest in yards, sheds and under porches nearby. Sealing your house and removing cover in your yard limits what they can use.

Do historic district rules affect sealing work?

Exterior changes in a historic district can have rules. Most rodent sealing uses small, discreet materials, but check with the city's preservation office if you plan bigger changes like new vents or siding.

Rat or mouse problem in Cooper-Young?