Rodent Control in Biltmore Village, Asheville

How the village came to be

George Vanderbilt built Biltmore Village outside the gates of his estate, and the cottages on All Souls Crescent were built as homes for estate workers. Richard Sharp Smith, who had worked with Richard Morris Hunt on the estate, designed them. Today most of those cottages hold shops, galleries and restaurants, and the Cathedral of All Souls, consecrated in 1896, anchors the village.

Water has shaped the place. The village flooded in 1916, and the Historic Biltmore Village history notes that the Cathedral of All Souls had never flooded until Helene hit in September 2024.

Rodent work in the village

Old cottages with crawl spaces and basements, shared alleys and nearby river and creek banks give Norway rats and house mice plenty to work with. Flood-damaged buildings that have been gutted, dried and rebuilt often have new utility entries, new doors and new drains, and each one needs to be sealed properly.

A business here usually needs:

• A building inspection that covers crawl spaces, basements, back doors and trash areas.
• Monitoring inside, with tamper-resistant stations outside if used.
• Sealing of foundation gaps, drains and utility penetrations.
• Written service reports, which restaurants need for health inspections.

Residents in the houses and apartments around the village deal with the same river-edge rats, especially near the Swannanoa.

Visitors, dining and trash

Biltmore Village draws shoppers and diners, and that means food waste, outdoor seating and trash areas behind the cottages. Rats find dropped food and open dumpster lids quickly. Businesses that close lids, clean grease containers, sweep outdoor seating at closing and keep back doors shut between deliveries see fewer problems. Residents nearby benefit when the businesses get this right. Homes and apartments on the streets around the village deal with the same rats along the Swannanoa, so foundation checks, closed trash carts and stored birdseed matter there too. After repairs, have new utility entries and doors checked for gaps.

Services people call about in Biltmore Village

• Restaurant Rodent Control
• Commercial Rodent Control
• Rat Control
• Exclusion and Sealing
• Emergency Rodent Removal

Biltmore Village rodent questions