Rats are some of the most troublesome and damaging rodents in the United States. They consume and contaminate food, damage structures and property, and transmit parasites and diseases to other animals and humans. Rats live and thrive under a wide variety of climates and conditions; they are often found in and around homes and other buildings, farms, gardens, and open fields.
People do not often see rats, but signs of their presence are easy to detect. The most troublesome rats in our area are two introduced species: the roof rat and the Norway rat. It is important to know which species of rat is present in order to place traps or baits in the most effective locations.
Norway rats, sometimes called brown or sewer rats, are stocky burrowing rodents that are larger than roof rats. Their burrows are found along building foundations, beneath rubbish or woodpiles, and in moist areas in and around gardens and fields. Nests may be lined with shredded paper, cloth, or other fibrous material. When Norway rats invade buildings, they usually remain in the basement or ground floor. The Norway rat occurs throughout the 48 contiguous United States. Generally it is founds at lower elevations but may occur wherever people live.
Roof Rats. Roof rats, sometimes called black rats, are slightly smaller than Norway rats. Unlike Norway rats, their tails are longer than their heads and bodies combined. Roof rats are very agile climbers and usually live and nest above ground in shrubs, trees, and dense vegetation such as ivy. In buildings, they are most often found in enclosed or elevated spaces in attics, walls, false ceilings, and cabinets. The roof rat has a more limited geographical range than the Norway rat, preferring ocean-influenced, warmer climates. In areas where the roof rat occurs, the Norway rat may also be present.
While rats are much larger than the common house mouse, a young rat is occasionally confused with a mouse. In general, very young rats have large feet and large heads in proportion to their bodies, whereas those of adult mice are much smaller in proportion to their body size. While both rats and mice gnaw on wood, rats leave much larger tooth marks than those of a mouse.
Because rats are active throughout the year, periodically check for signs of their presence. Once rats have invaded your garden or landscaping, unless your house is truly rodent proof, it is only a matter of time before you find evidence of them indoors. Experience has shown it is less time consuming to control rodents before their numbers get too high, and fewer traps and less bait will be required if control is started early.
Inspect your yard and home thoroughly. If the answer to |
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any of the following questions is yes, you may have a rat problem.
Do you find rat droppings around dog or cat dishes or pet food storage containers? Do you hear noises coming from the attic just after dusk? Have you found remnants of rat nests when dismantling your firewood stack? Does your dog or cat bring home dead rat carcasses? Is there evidence rodents are feeding on fruit/nuts that are in or falling from the trees in your yard? Do you see burrows among plants or damaged vegetables when working in the garden? Do you see rats traveling along utility lines or on the tops of fences at dusk or soon after? Have you found rat nests behind boxes or in drawers in the garage? Are there smudge marks caused by the rats rubbing their fur against beams, rafters, pipes, and walls? Do you see burrows beneath your compost pile or beneath the garbage can? Are there rat or mouse droppings in your recycle bins? Have you ever had to remove a drowned rat from your swimming pool or hot tub? Do you see evidence of something digging under your garden tool shed or doghouse?
Rats, like house mice, are mostly active at night. They have poor eyesight, but they make up for this with their keen senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Rats constantly explore and learn about their environment, memorizing the locations of pathways, obstacles, food and water, shelter, and other elements in their domain. They quickly detect and tend to avoid new objects placed into a familiar environment. Thus, objects such as traps and baits often are avoided for several days or more following their initial placement. While both species exhibit this avoidance of new objects, it is usually more pronounced in roof rats than in Norway rats.
Both Norway and roof rats may gain entry to structures by gnawing, climbing, jumping, or swimming through sewers and entering through the toilet or broken drains. While Norway rats are more powerful swimmers, roof rats are more agile and are better climbers. Norway and roof rats do not get along. The Norway rat is larger and the more dominant species; it will kill a roof rat in a fight. When the two species occupy the same building, Norway rats will dominate the basement and ground floors, with roof rats occupying the attic or second and third floors. Contrary to some conceptions, the two species cannot interbreed. Both species may share some of the same food resources but do not feed side-by-side. Rats may grab food and carry it off to feed elsewhere.
Rats of either species, especially young rats, can squeeze beneath a door with only a 1/2-inch gap. If the door is made of wood, the rat may gnaw to enlarge the gap, but this maynot be necessary.
Rats consume and contaminate foodstuffs and animal feed. 0000000000000000Continued > > > > |