This is the only one of our service areas east of the 101, and it is different from the rest in three ways that matter.
The first is the housing. Pasadena and Altadena carry an unusual concentration of 1900s to 1920s Craftsman construction, with deep overhanging eaves, exposed rafter tails, knee braces and decorative gable vents. That is entry geometry that post-war tract housing simply does not have, and it sits at a height that ground-level inspection never reaches. It is also frequently in a landmark district, which means the sealing has to satisfy a design review as well as keep a rat out.
The second is that basements exist here. Across most of Los Angeles the question is crawl space or slab. In the older Pasadena and South Pasadena stock a genuine basement or partial cellar is common, with window wells, its own venting and below-grade penetrations. Norway rats rather than roof rats are the usual finding in them.
The third is the foothills. Altadena, Sierra Madre and La Canada back onto the Angeles National Forest, and the 2025 Eaton fire corridor runs through this service area. Displacement pressure moved into surrounding neighbourhoods within weeks of the fire and has not returned to its previous baseline. We regularly see properties with twenty-year clean records reporting sudden first-time activity, and the structure is not what changed.
