Common Name: Norway Rat / Brown Rat / Sewer Rat
Recognition: The largest of the commensal rodents and the most common. Adults with the head & body combined is about 7 - 9.5" and the tail is shorter then both head and body combined.
Color: Fur is coarse, shaggy and brown with some scattered black hairs. The belly is a grey to yellowish to white. muzzle is blunt, eyes & ears small. Heavy body and a scaly bi-colored tail.
Droppings: 3/4" long, capsule shaped with blunt ends.
Gestation Period and litter: 23 Days and 6 - 12 young per litter plus they have about 4 - 7 per year.
Food Preference: Meats, Grains, Fish and anything else
Food Preference: Meats, Grains, Fish and anything else
Signs Of Infestation: Gnaw Mark, Rub marks or dark greasy markings on vertical surfaces, the droppings size and shape. The runways or burrows follow the same patterns.
Common Name: Roof Rat / Black Rat / Ship Rat
Recognition: Adults with the head & body combined is about 6 -8" in length and the tail is longer then head & body combined.
Color: Fur is soft and smooth,usually black with little brown intermixed. Grey to black above with white, grey or black underside. The muzzle is pointed, eyes & ears are large. Tail is scaly, uniformly dark.
Droppings: 1/2" long, Spindle - shaped and pointed on both ends
Gestation Period & Litter: 22 Days and 6 -8 young per litter plus 4 - 6 per year.
Food Preference: Fruits, Vegetables and cereal.
Signs of Infestation: Roof Rats are primarily nocturnal and they are very cautious. They shy away from new objects and changes. They prefer to nest in upper parts of structures like attics, false ceilings, outside they prefer to nest in higher places such as in trees. Roof rats leave greasy rub marks on rafters, and along edges of walls, etc.. they leave gnaw marks as well.
All rats are a health risk and a problem when entering structures. They carry many different types of bacteria and diseases like Hantavirus, bubonic plague, salmonella.
Call us at First Step Pest to solve your rat Problem!!
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Humane rat traps, which allow you to dispose of the pests away from your home, cost around $25. Because of their size, humane rat traps can also be used for animals such as squirrels, groundhogs, and skunks. Once you place a rat trap, try to keep it in one location because rats are sensitive to moved surroundings.
ReplyDeleteIf you spot these rodents around the outside of your home or business, the easiest way to discourage them from returning is to make the area as unappealing as possible. Even during the darkness of night these species will be hesitant to cross a wide open space if other routes are available, so cut back any high grass at least twenty to thirty feet from your home.
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