The Real Problem Isn't the Mice
You've seen droppings. Maybe you caught one in a trap. You told your landlord. They said they'd "take care of it." A week goes by. Two weeks. Maybe they sent someone who put down a couple of snap traps and left. You're still hearing things at night.
Or maybe the opposite happened: your property manager insists there's no issue, that the building was just treated, that nobody else has complained. You know what you saw, but you can't prove it.
This is the situation thousands of renters end up in. The problem isn't really the mice — it's that two people are looking at the same situation and seeing different things. One person says there's a problem. The other person says there isn't. And without evidence, it's just a disagreement.
The question isn't "who's right?" It's "what's actually happening?" Data answers that question for everyone.
Why Data Changes the Conversation
When you tell someone "I've been seeing mice," that's a report. It's easy to downplay, easy to question, easy to put off. How many? When? Are you sure it wasn't just one?
But when you can show someone a timestamped record of 47 motion events between midnight and 5am, concentrated around the kitchen baseboards and the bathroom wall — that's not a complaint anymore. That's a documented fact.
Here's what makes sensor data different from traps and droppings:
It's continuous
Traps only tell you about the one that got caught. Droppings tell you something was there at some point. Sensors record every movement, all night, every night. You get the full picture — not a snapshot.
It's timestamped
Every event has a date, time, and location. This creates an automatic log that you don't have to maintain — no keeping a journal, no remembering to take photos. The system records everything whether you're awake or not.
It's the same for everyone
You and your landlord can look at the same playback, the same heat map, the same event count. There's nothing to interpret or debate. Either sensors triggered or they didn't.
What the Data Actually Looks Like
RodentRadar uses small wireless sensors placed in areas where you suspect activity — along walls, behind the stove, under the kitchen sink, near where you've found droppings. The sensors detect motion overnight and transmit every event to a base station. In the morning, you can review everything that happened in a visual playback that takes seconds to watch.
Here's what you'd actually see:
The playback shows your floor plan with sensor positions marked. As the night progresses, sensors light up when they detect motion. Heat circles build up showing where activity concentrates. A timeline at the bottom lets you scrub through the entire night. The event counter shows you the total — not "I think I heard something," but "there were 83 events between 1am and 4am."
That's the kind of information that moves a conversation forward.
Three Outcomes — All of Them Useful
When you put sensors down, one of three things happens. Every outcome gives you something actionable.
Outcome 1: Nothing triggers
Zero events. No activity. This is genuinely good news. Maybe the treatment worked. Maybe the one you caught was the only one. Either way, you can relax — and you have the data to prove it if the topic comes up again. Run it for a few more nights to be sure, then you're done.
Outcome 2: Significant activity
Dozens or hundreds of events across multiple sensors. This is a clear, documented problem. Take this to your landlord or property manager — not as a complaint, but as a report. The data speaks for itself. It shows where the activity is concentrated, which often points to an entry point or nesting area that needs professional attention.
Outcome 3: It comes and goes
Some nights are active, some are quiet. This pattern is common and actually very informative — it often indicates a nearby entry point that rodents use intermittently. The data shows which nights have activity and which don't, building a record over time that reveals the pattern. This is especially valuable after treatment, because you can see whether activity is actually declining or just quiet for a few days.
Building a Record Over Time
One night of data is useful. A week is better. Two weeks is a documented record that's hard for anyone to dismiss.
If you're in a situation where the problem isn't being addressed, time-stamped data that spans multiple weeks creates a clear narrative: "I reported this on January 5th. Here's the sensor data from January 5th through January 19th showing continuous nightly activity. No treatment was performed during this period." That's a very different conversation than "I keep telling them I have mice."
If treatment was performed, the data tells that story too. You can see exactly when activity dropped — or didn't. If an exterminator came on Thursday and Friday night's data shows the same level of activity, that's useful information for everyone. Maybe the treatment needs time to work. Maybe it wasn't the right approach. But now you're having a conversation based on evidence instead of assumptions.
The data works both ways
Monitoring doesn't just prove there's a problem — it also proves when the problem is resolved. After treatment, a string of zero-activity nights is documented proof that things are under control. That's valuable for renters, property managers, and pest control professionals alike.
Know Your Rights
Most states and municipalities consider rodent infestations a habitability issue, meaning landlords have a legal obligation to address them. However, the specifics — timelines for response, what remedies are available to tenants, whether you can withhold rent or terminate a lease — vary significantly depending on where you live.
What doesn't vary is this: documented evidence of an ongoing problem is always stronger than a verbal report. Whether you're filing a complaint with a housing authority, requesting a rent adjustment, or simply trying to get your landlord to send a professional, having timestamped records of nightly activity gives your request weight.
If you're dealing with an unresponsive landlord, a good next step is contacting your local tenant rights organization. They can tell you exactly what options are available in your jurisdiction. What you bring to that conversation — a documented record versus a verbal account — will make a difference.
Common Questions
Can I use RodentRadar data as evidence in a dispute?
The system produces timestamped, location-specific records of motion events — the same kind of objective data that any monitoring system generates. Whether and how this data is used in a formal dispute depends on your jurisdiction and situation. The data itself is straightforward: it shows activity or it doesn't.
Will my landlord be able to see the data too?
That's up to you. Sharing the playback with your landlord or property manager is often the fastest way to get the problem addressed — most people respond differently to documented evidence than they do to verbal complaints. You control your account and who sees the data.
What if the sensors show nothing?
Then you have peace of mind — and proof. A clean report is a good report. It means the situation is under control, and if anyone questions it later, you have the data to back it up.
I'm in a multi-unit building. Does this help?
Yes. Sensors in your unit document what's happening in your space. If activity is concentrated along a shared wall, that's useful information for your property manager when deciding where to treat. Multiple units can be monitored independently, giving the building manager a complete picture.