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Rats belong in the same family as the common house mouse, but their unique intelligence and physical strength make them a formidable pest. There are two main kinds of rat, and an infestation of either requires the help of a rat. The Norway rat and the roof rat look similar but have different habits. Both breeds are common to the Vancouver area. While the two varieties have a similar appearance, their habits are different. Both varieties of rats are brown to black in colour. Both breeds have pointy faces, somewhat humped backs, and scaly, nearly hairless tails. Both varieties may be up to 40 cm long. Both types of rats are nocturnal, and daytime sightings could mean that there is a large infestation that needs to be handled by a professional rat removal company.

Frequently Asked Questions About Rats

1. How do rats get inside?
   1. Rats are adept at maneuvering in and around obstacles. Rats can fit through a hole the size of a quarter, meaning there are very few properties that are inept to their ability to get indoors. The Norway rat builds systems of tunnels and burrows at ground level, which is where they get inside. Roof rats are climbers and jumpers that tend to get indoors around chimneys, eaves, etc.
2. How quickly do rats reproduce?
   1. Rodents breed at a very rapid rate. Rats reach sexual maturity at just 3 or 4 months, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially. This is a main reason why a rat infestation can be so dangerous. Rats typically live up to two years.
3. What do rats look like?
   1. The Norway rat is relatively large and the average adult measures 16” in total length from its nose to the end of its tail, and weighs about 12 ounces. The length of the tail is shorter than its body and it is typically grayish brown to black or reddish-brown. Adult roof rats are medium-sized rats measuring about 16” in total length from nose to tip of tail. Their tails are longer than their bodies, which are slimmer than those of Norway rats.
4. How dangerous are rats?
   1. Both varieties of rats can cause serious structural and electrical damage to the buildings that they infest. They can also damage roadways and entire fields of crops and crop storage. They eat building materials, including batt and foam insulation, wood, and wiring. They can create a fire hazard with they gnawing habits. While rare, rats have been known to bite in defense. Because they can spread disease, this can be especially dangerous.

Why Do You Need Rat Control?

Rats are mostly nocturnal, so the easiest way to tell if your residence has an infestation of rats is by their droppings. Often, homeowners can also hear scratching or scuffling sounds between walls.  Chewed food, packaging, and chewed building materials are other ways of determining if your home has rats. Often there is a telltale dirty ‘rub mark’ on the baseboards that they pass by frequently. Be aware that if rats are visible during the day, you likely have a bigger infestation on your hands, making it important to look into rat pest control services.

Food products that have been investigated by rats should be discarded as tainted, due to the feces, saliva, and urine that the pests leave behind. Rats are known disease carriers. They can transmit diseases directly by contaminating food with their waste or by biting people. They can also transmit infection via their fleas. Rats carry diseases such as the plague, rat-bite fever, and Hantavirus.

Rat Pest Control & Prevention Tips

The best rat control is preventing them in the first place! Our top tips to keep rats out are to:

1. Use metal weather-stripping and flashing around doors and windows
2. Use concrete filler to patch foundation cracks with concrete filler.
3. Prior to sealing pipes, wrap in steel wool
4. Cover vents with fine metal mesh screening
5. Eliminate clutter around your house and property.
6. Clean up spilled birdseed.
7. Keep grass trimmed.
8. Garbage and compost should have secure lids.
9. Eliminate water sources (like leaky taps, sweating pipes, open drains, and air conditioner drains).
10. Store dry goods and pet food in plastic, glass, or metal containers.
11. Keep kitchens and pantries clean.
12. Trim trees and bushes so that limbs are not touching the house.

Vancouver’s Best Rat Exterminators

When it comes to rat removal homeowners can choose to use poisoned bait or physical traps to kill solitary invading rats. Due to the ingenuity and rapid breeding habits of the pests, it’s usually best to contact a rat control company for help with an infestation. Our mice removal and rat removal consist of an initial service that includes isolating the points of entry and sealing them while placing strategic baits and traps throughout the areas of activity. We follow up with this service until the rodent problem is gone. For more information on how we can keep rats out of your property, contact our rat removal experts today!