Fun facts about rats
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Rodents present a unique challenge due to their habitual feeding on all foodstuffs left lying around. They cause extensive damage because they destroy both human food and animal feed, and often gnaw on cabling, equipment and packaging. Rodents are nocturnal, feeding mostly during the night. Their incisors have a sharp, bevelled edge and are well suited for gnawing. These incisors grow continuously and the regular chewing and gnawing keeps these them worn down. Successful long-term rat control is not simple - the key is to control rat populations, not individual rats.
What you can do to control rats
Sanitation is essential. Rodents must have food, water and shelter to survive. So clean up any spills and keep food in appropriate containers - rats need about 228 grams of food daily, while mice are nibblers, feeding 20 or more times during evening rounds. Don't forget the dog food. Rats also need water every day, so make sure there is no standing water. Make sure there is no stacked timber of other items that can provide a safe haven next to your home.
Rodent proofing will aid in preventing rodents from entering. Close all holes and crevices (note plumbing and pipes entering the house) and make sure that no trees are overhanging onto your house. Check gaps under your doors - if a pen can fit under there so an your guest.
Traps are a safe means of eliminating rodents, but this is a longer process as only one rodent is caught at a time and it needs to be checked daily.
Baits can work well, but carry risks of secondary poisoning and needs to be kept away from children and pets. Baits have varying degrees of effectiveness.
Summary of distinguishing features |
Norway rat vs Roof rat | |||
Description |
Norway Rat |
Roof rat |
House mouse |
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Tail |
16 to 21 cm |
19 to 25 cm |
7 to 11 cm |
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Body size |
18 to 25 cm |
16 to 21 cm |
6 to 10 cm |
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Weight |
Male - 350g; Female 250g |
200g |
15g |
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Appearance |
Bigger & thicker; blunt nose, smaller eyes & ears |
Smaller & thinner; pointy nose, large eyes & ears |
Small & thin; pointy nose, large ears & small eyes. |
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Colour |
Black reddish to greyish brown; stomach grey to white |
Black-grey or different shades of brown; stomach grey |
Back dark to medium brownish grey; stomach light grey to cream- brown |
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Droppings |
Average. 19mm long, blunt edges. |
Ave. 13mm long, pointed ends. |
3 to 6mm long, pointed ends. |
Identification of droppings |
Habitat |
Indoors (prefers ground floors, cavity walls & basements) & outdoors (burrows) |
Homes, shops, warehouses, grain stores, poultry farms & animal houses. Harbourage always near water source. |
Indoors (prefers vacant) & outdoors; dark & secluded areas; nesting material includes paper, fabrics, etc... |
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Habits |
Predominantly nocturnal, very cautious. Fear of new objects. Uses established “runs”. |
Predominantly nocturnal, very cautious. Usually in upper areas in structures & trees. Sometimes forage in groups. |
Social with family but aggressive t other populations; territory marked with urine; keep close to nest (within 1.5m) |
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Mobility |
Not very agile, climbs if necessary, swims well; territory up to 100m. |
Agile, likes to climb; can swim but avoids water; territory up to 30m. |
Agile, can swim; territory up to 6m. Highly territorial. |
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Sexually mature |
2 to 3 months |
2 to 3 months |
1.5 months |
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Litter size |
7 to 12 |
5 to 10 |
4 to 16 |
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Litters per year |
3 to 7 |
3 to 6 |
7 to 8 |
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Birth to maturity |
10 to 12 weeks |
12 to 16 weeks |
8 to 12 weeks |
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Natural mortality |
About 90% per year |
About 90% per year |
About 90% per year |
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Food preference |
Everything, incl. Meat, cereals, etc... Enjoys food with high water content. |
Moist fruits, cockroaches, slugs, snails. |
Prefers grains. Sometimes insects trapped on glue boards. |
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Food consumed daily |
30g |
15g |
3g (usually from food source). |
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Daily water requirements |
60ml |
15ml |
3ml |
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Distribution |
Usually ground living, sometimes burrows |
Often climbs, agile; rarely burrows |
Usually ground living & burrows; often climbs |
![]() Snap Traps
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![]() Tamper resitant rodent boxes
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Commercial & Domestic
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Rodenticides
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Mechanical control
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For our commercial clients, we offer a comprehensive rodent program that forms part of the IPM process. This includes audits when necessary, and all the paperwork needed for compliance. When it comes to our domestic clients, we consider varying factors such as children, pets, etc…
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We use only the best rodenticides, while taking care not to cause secondary poisoning. Our rodenticides can be placed in tamper resistant rodent boxes that are secured in place. Our options are wax blocks, pellets, liquid, paste and tracking powder.
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We make use of snap traps (which can be placed inside the tamper resistant boxes), multiple catch traps and cage traps. Glue traps are often frowned upon as they are not killed immediately.
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