Rowdy Roof Rats

 

Rowdy Roof Rats

Roof Rodents

Smaller than their fellow rats the Norway rats, roof rats are brownish/black in color with long thin tails and large ears. These rodents were originally referred to as black rats or ship rats, but soon became known by their new name due to their tendency to inhabit upper areas of buildings. They are assumed to native of Southeast Asia, but are now found worldwide, particularly in areas with lots of water including coastal states and seaports. Throughout history, man has struggled with the destructive forces of these rats. They can devastate local agriculture, steal and consume your food, significantly damage property and even start fires.

The Problems with Roof Rats

Roof rats are extremely destructive. As rodents, their teeth grow at a surprisingly rapid rate. Because of this, rats spend roughly 28 minutes a day chewing on things in order to grind down their teeth. Due to this excessive chewing, roof rats have developed extremely strong jaws with incredible biting power. In fact, the bite pressure of a rat’s jaw is 24,000 psi, while a wolf’s bite has a pressure of only 1,400 psi. With such incredible bite power, rats can chew through walls, furniture, and even some metals and glass. With these abilities, roof rats can annihilate the integrity of your home, dismantling it from the inside out by:

  • Damaging wooden beams
  • Making holes in walls and foundation
  • Disturbing or destroying insulation
  • Destroying plastics
  • Tearing through wallpaper
  • Ravaging food packaging and food
  • Chewing through wiring
  • Causing electrical fires due to damaged wiring in homes

In short, rat infestations in the United States cause roughly $20 billion worth of damage each year between homes, businesses, agricultural, and more. Not only are rodents destructive, but they can also be highly dangerous due to the myriad of malignant diseases they can spread. Rats urinate and defecate practically everywhere they go, spreading pathogens throughout your home. Some of the diseases they spread include:

  • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
  • Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
  • Lassa Fever
  • Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis
  • Salmonellosis

Signs of an Infestation

As roof rats are rodent pests, the indications that they are present are nearly the same as all rodent infestations. There are many different indicators of rodents in a home, the most obvious of which is seeing the actual rodents themselves. But as both wild mice and rats prefer not to interact with people, this is less likely to happen until after the problem has festered for quite some time. Some telltale earlier signs pointing to an infestation include:

  • Tiny droppings
  • Noises – Scratching, rustling, scurrying and even squeaking
  • Chew holes in your walls or moldings
  • Remnants of nests such as paper or leaves
  • Urine smell (ammonia)
  • Disturbed insulation
  • Stolen or torn open food
  • Overall musky odors
  • Random smudge marks or stains around the home

How Do They Get Inside?

Rats in general are incredibly acrobatic. Their sharp claws help them to scale brick, cement, and even metallic surfaces, allowing them access to all types of buildings and structures. Roof rats also have the ability to squeeze through holes as small as the size of a quarter due to their hinged ribs. This unique ability allows their skeleton to collapse similar to the way an umbrella does, so anywhere a rat’s head fits, their bodies will fit as well. Furthermore, the balance of rats is incredible as they also have the ability to jump a significant distance in proportion to their size both horizontally and vertically. Surprisingly, rats can are highly capable swimmers with the ability to tread water for hours on end and hold their breaths for up to several minutes. All of these abilities allow them to infiltrate homes and businesses with surprising ease.

Tips to Keep Them Away

Prevention is key to keeping roof rats out of your home. Here are some of the best steps you can take to help avoid these rodents from ever scurrying into your life:

  • Trim back bushes and tree branches from your home – these can act like highways for rats to access your home
  • Fill any gaps or crevices around your home
  • Ensure there are no gaps under doors and install door sweeps where needed (even on garage door)
  • Do not leave your garage open for long periods of time or when unattended
  • Ensure proper window security by replacing cracked glass, torn screens and any damaged weather stripping
  • Move garbage away from the side of your home and ensure that it’s covered
  • Pick up any fruit that has fallen from trees, any birdseed on the ground, and any pet food left outdoors as these all attract rodents as well as other wildlife

Our Rodent Control Services

Rodent infestations are quite common and if you have never experienced one, count yourself lucky. Statistically, the odds are against you because each year an estimated 21 million homes experience a rodent invasion. Prevention is truly the best way to prevent a rat infestation, but you can only do so much on your own. At Pointe Pest Control, we have highly trained and experienced technicians that are experts at rodent removal. We know where they hide, understand their lifecycle, and how they behave. Our technicians can both stop them in their tracks, removing them from your home, and prevent any future infestations from ever happening. Call us today if you find yourself at the mercy of roof rats.

Citations

Diseases Directly Transmitted by Rodents (2017) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases & The Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html (Accessed: April 2020). Engelhaupt, E. (2018) Yes, Rats Can Swim Up Your Toilet. And It Gets Worse Than ThatNational Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/08/14/yes-rats-can-swim-up-your-toilet-and-it-gets-worse-than-that/ (Accessed: December 10, 2020). Polan, S. and Sharma, U. (2018) Why Cities Can’t Get Rid of Rats, YouTube. Science Insider. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD6eZrrcp1Y (Accessed: July 2020). Roof Rats Information: Habits, Habitat & More on Roof Rats (no date) PestWorld. National Pest Management Association. Available at: https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/rodents/roof-rats/ (Accessed: January 15, 2021). What Attracts Rats? (2018) Wildlife Removal USA. Available at: http://wildliferemovalusa.com/ratattraction.html (Accessed: October 2020).

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