RATS
The Norway rat, also called the brown rat, house rat, barn rat, sewer rat, gray rat and wharf rat weighs an average of one pound. Their fur is course and is usually brownish or reddish gray above and whitish gray on the belly. They live in close association with humans making their nests under buildings and other structures and anywhere else that food and water are abundant. It is a voracious eater and will eat just about anything.
They are nocturnal by nature being most active from dusk to dawn. When rat populations are high, they can be seen more frequently during the day. They usually construct their nests underground lined with whatever material the rats can find. Litters of 6-12 young are born. They can eat solid food at 3 weeks and are weaned at 4 weeks. They reach sexual maturity at 3 months of age and breed heaviest during the spring to fall months with breeding stopping during the winter. The average female can have up to 4-6 litters per year.
Rats are very sensitive to their environments and quickly know when something new appears.
Rats cause structural damage to buildings by burrowing and gnawing. They may also chew on wiring and are great destroyers of insulation when they get access to the cavities of walls and attics. Sign of their presence includes droppings (about the size of a small lima bean), tracks (showing a tail drag mark), staining and smell of objects from their urine, runs/burrows next to walls, fences and under bushes. When heard gnawing, one would think that there is a small jack hammer in the wall/ceiling as the noise in loud and unmistakable. Rats must chew to keep their incisors worn down. These grow about 5 inches per year. Holes chewed by rats can be distinguished from those of mice by their size - rat holes are about 2 inches in diameter.
Rats can be harbours of many diseases. There are at least 35 diseases that rats can transmit to humans either through direct contact (handling rats) or contamination of items from their urine or fecal matter. Indirect contact transmission can occur through bites from fleas and mites that the rats may carry. The list is too long to go into but the most common are rat bite fever (contracted from as it sounds), rabies, Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis ans several skin infections due to bites from fleas or mites. Although there are many diseases that can be contracted, you need to keep in mind that the number of rat to human transmission cases of diseases in North America is very rare.
At Advanced Wildlife Control, I will conduct an inspection of the property to determine where entry points are. Then I will discuss with you what methods will be best to solve your problem. Along with traditional methods, I also offer methods such as habitat modification, repellents and non toxic methods to solve your issue.
Give Mike a call at (902) 497-2582 or contact Mike through the web-site.