Roof Rat Burrows

Suffocation agents for rats.

Roof rat burrows.

Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and 1 or 2 exit holes away from the main entrance. Check along walls and grass for runways. It is therefore advisable to get rid of roof rats as soon as you become aware of their presence. The last way to kill a rat is to use the protection of the burrow against it.

Outdoors you can find roof rats nesting in trees shrubs wood piles and dense vegetation. Indoors roof rats like to build nests in the upper areas of the home where it s kept warm by rising heat. Major cities like chicago have started utilizing this approach by filling the entrance of the burrow with dry ice. However in a hot dry environment roof rats burrow in shallow cavities beneath concrete slabs sidewalks or tree roots.

The entrance will be roughly 2 4 inches in diameter and smooth and compacted from the rodents going in and out of the burrow. If residents find a rat burrow near the home it most likely belongs to a norway rat not a roof rat. Typical rat burrow the first distinct sign of a rat hole is the size of the entrance. As they can gnaw at and chew through metal pipes and plastic they can damage the structure of your house which might take a lot of effort and financial investment to fix.

Unlike other rat species roof rats are also good climbers and build nests above ground not underground in burrows. The norway rat digs tunnels to nest because it prefers to be on ground level. They prefer to build nests among tree branches or use utility lines to access a roof or attic. As the dry ice melts it releases large volumes of carbon dioxide which fills the burrow and suffocates the rats.