Domestic rats are pleasant pets that live in cages and make no harm to humans and their property. However, wild rats are not the same. They are annoying rodents that can make your life unbearable. Homeowners should take into account that their rat problem is extremely serious. These unpredictable household pests bother humans at night, cause damage to homes, steal or contaminate food stuff. Besides, they are vectors of awful diseases. Hence, homeowners, who have just faced a rat problem, must hire specialists for rat extermination as soon as possible.
Common species of rats in house
There are two types of common house rats that live inside and around human dwellings. They are a brown rat and a black rat. The brown rat is an abundant species that is also known as a street rat. The black rat is the less widespread type in America that is called a house or a roof rat as well.
Where do house and street rats live?
Rat problem is a common affair of urban areas. Rats may live and breed successfully in areas that are very close to human homes and food, though almost inaccessible to humans themselves. In fact, you can find them underneath floorboards, inside crawl spaces, in the insulation of homes and household buildings, in basements, attics or areas that contain lots of boxes. Moreover, the house rats affect in cupboards and warehouses where homeowners keep their food stuff. The street rats occupy areas where humans store their garbage.
How can rats in my house look like?
Brown rats are the largest among the well known species of rat. They are brown or grey in color. Their bodies are up to 10 inches long. Their tails are hairless, covered with tiny scales, and shorter than the rest of the body. In addition, a brown male rat weighs approx. 12 oz., a female rat is about 9 oz. They have a slanted snout, small eyes and ears, and sturdy body shape.
Black rats are smaller than brown ones. They are black to light brown in color. Their bodies are up to 7 inches in length. Their tails are hairless, tiny-scaled, and longer than the rest of the body. Moreover, a black rat weighs on average from 4 oz. to 12 oz. They have a pointed snout, big eyes and ears, and slender body shape.
How can rats get into my home?
Rats are very clever and can enter your house through any area that you won’t even imagine. For example, if trees and bushes are resting against your house, they allow the rats get through any holes or cracks in the foundation or right through the open doors or windows directly into your home. In fact, house rats are masters at squeezing through any tiny openings and holes as small as 0.5 inch in diameter. Besides, they are nice swimmers and may enter your home via sewage drains or even the toilet! They like to chew on anything made of wood, burrow under foundation and gnaw through slabs to enter the house.
What do rats eat?
Rats in a house are common rodents. Thus, they eat nuts, grains, vegetables, plant materials. However, milk products, meat, fish, birds, insects, slugs and snails are on their menu either. In urban areas, they feed on human provision, kitchen wastes and food for pets. You can find more information here.
What are the signs that I have a rat problem?
Make regular inspections in search of gnaw marks and rat fecal matter in areas of your home. You may notice rat droppings in or around garbage cans. If you have a cat or a dog, look for brown rice-shaped rat feces around a pet’s food dish. Rats may chew through wood walls, so you may see fresh holes under your bed or behind pieces of furniture. Besides, if your food packaging has fresh gnaw marks through, it means that a house rat has already tried to get to the food supplies inside.
In addition, if you hear strange noises in the walls late at night, or see a rat running on the floor through your home, you are likely to have a real rat problem and it’s high time to take action. How to get rid of rats read here.