Rats

The two commensal rats are as I have mentioned Roof Rat and Norway Rats. The Roof Rat is best suited for tropical and semi-tropical zones. They are a problem in California, the Golf Coast States, Hawaii, and the lower portion of the East Coast.  In Kansas City our major rat problem is the Norway Rat (Rattus Norvegicus.)

The Norway Rat is found throughout the United States. They eat meats, fish, flour, seeds, grains, fruits, vegetables, and anything a human will eat. They eat 1-2 ounces of food per day, and drink about an ounce of water per day. They must have water daily to survive.

The Norway is usually grayish-brown, but their color varies. Some are pure gray some pure black, or any combination of the above. They explore their territory of 1-300 feet daily. They have neophobia, or new object fear, which makes them cautious, and any new object in their territory will take them several days before they will accept it. They like mice are color blind, and see poorly. Their sense of smell and touch however are acute. Rats often live in basements or any dark area, or burrow under ground often under front stoops. They are nocturnal feeders.

Young Norway rats are capable of mating at three months. Females have an average of 3-7 litters per year with 6-12 pups per litter. After giving birth, the female goes back into heat in twenty four hours. Adults live approximately one year.

Rodent Control

To keep rodents out of a structure, exclusion is always the first and most important step. Mice can enter a structure through any hole 1/4 of an inch. Search your property and repair any holes. A good idea for holes around cables and telephone wires is to stuff them with steel wool prior to repairing them. If a rodent chews on steel wool it will cause internal bleeding and kill them. Pay careful attention to garage doors. The weather stripping at the bottom is often improperly  installed with gaps at the corners, or just worn out. This is often the first entry point.

Sanitation is also very important. If you have mice all food products should be stored in containers that can be sealed. This is especially important in the garage. Often dog food or bird seed is stored in bags which mice can chew through. Kitchens need to be kept clean with no food products under sinks or ovens.  This is especially important in commercial kitchens.  Any water leaks must be fixed to take away a water source. Outside, especially around warehouses, should be weed free and kept clean around the parameter of the structure.

Once a structure is rodent proofed as much as possible the existing rodents must be eliminated and precautions taken to avoid future infestation. Often it is impossible to find and fix all entry points, or they may chew another entry so we bait them outside to be sure of no future entry.

1. There are two basic means of eliminating existing rodents: trapping or baiting. Standard mice traps are effective for a quick knockdown of a population. They are inquisitive and lured by peanut butter. Trapping them is fairly easy, but a baiting program should be incorporated with it to be sure all rodents are eliminated. If baiting with a rodenticide is impractical or dangerous to pets or products, another solution is permanent traps that do not need to be set daily. There are several types of multi-catch traps. For Rodent Control Products, click here.