Roof Rat

Identification

Roof rats are about 6 to 8 inches long and their tail is another 7 to 10 inches. Roof rat tails are longer than their body. They weigh 5 to 9 ounces. Their fur is smooth, brown with some black hairs. Their nose is pointed and their eyes and ears are large. The roof rat droppings are ½ inch long spindled shape with pointed ends.

Roof Rat Droppings

Biology

The female roof rats are sexually mature in two to five months. They can produce 3 to 6 litters a year each litter producing 6 to 8 offspring. The adults live from 9 to 12 months. Roof rats have poor eye sight and do not cover more than 150 feet from their nesting area. They have a keen since of smell, taste, hearing, and touch. They do not stray very far from walls, beams, or rafters. In heavily traffic areas you can see the stain marks, from the oil on their bodies, on the walls where their bodies come in contact with the walls or base plates.

Habits

Roof rats are nocturnal. They feed and move mostly at night. They are shy about new objects and are very cautious when new things are put in their path. Unlike the mouse that is very curios the roof rat is not. They can enter homes and structures with as little as ½ hole or crevice. They nest in trees, shrubs, attics, vines, under storage buildings, sewers, under decks, behind firewood, and in debris. Inside they like to nest in attics, under the home, basements, and behind tubs and tub traps. They prefer fruits, vegetables, cereals and grains.

Rats and mice are socially unacceptable. Their ability to survive and the difficulty to eliminate them have plagued us for centuries. Their ability to live so close to humans and adapt to the environment is what has kept them from extinction.

Roof rats can cause structural damage to electrical wires, insulation, wood, plastic, and card board. They are very destructive to crops, food and drinking water. Very few diseases have been report from their bite since the Plague many years ago. The main disease is leptospirosis, which is caused by the contamination of food and water from their urine and feces. They have been known to bite humans and kill small animals and pets. They carry fleas, mites and worms.

Removing their hiding places, ceiling cracks and crevices, keeping foliage and tree limbs off the home, keeping stored products such as wood and firewood off the ground and away from the home, keep dog & cat food in sealed containers, keep trash cans sealed, remove all trash and debris from around the home are all keys to successfully keeping rodents out of the home.

Seal all entry points

Call us at RP Lee Termite & Pest Control for a complete inspection, control options, and treatment plans. We pride ourselves in the variety of services that we offer, the quality of our work, and the professionalism of our technicians