Parts of Downey we cover
- Downey Landing
- Stonewood Center
- Furman Park
- Apollo Park
- Wilderness Park
- Rancho Los Amigos
- Firestone Boulevard
- Lakewood Boulevard
How rodents get into Downey homes
Post-war ranch houses
Much of Downey's housing is single-story tract homes from the post-war boom. Low roofs put attic vents and eaves within reach of fences, block walls and trees, and decades of re-roofing, solar panels and added rooms leave small gaps along the roofline.
River and golf course edges
Homes near the Rio Hondo on the west and the San Gabriel River on the east back onto flood channels, river trails and, in one corner, the fairways of the Rio Hondo Golf Club. That open ground holds wild rodents a short distance from backyards.
Around the big parks
Wilderness Park's ponds and trees, and the lawns of Furman and Apollo parks, give roof rats shelter. Houses on the streets around them can see rats moving along fence tops, branches and power lines from the park into yards and garages.
Shopping streets
Firestone Boulevard, Lakewood Boulevard, Downey Landing and Stonewood Center are lined with restaurants and food businesses. Their trash areas and loading docks back onto neighborhoods, giving rats from commercial lots a short trip over a block wall to the nearest homes and garages.
Age matters here: vent screens, eaves and foundations open up over the decades, and those small gaps are how mice and rats get in.
