The roof rat gets its name from its tendency to find shelter in the upper parts of buildings.
Roof rat colony size.
The size of a colony can be on the order of 100 rats if sufficient food is present to support the population.
Roof rats can be black or brown.
They grow up to 18 in in length including their tail and weigh at least 5 oz.
Both norway rats and roof rats use nests to hide and raise their young.
To prevent a roof rat colony from nesting in your home make sure that all the windows and vents are screened.
They are smaller and sleeker than norway rats.
The diet of the roof rats is entirely different from their brethren species.
Roof rats being the smaller sized ones with a considerably slender body.
There have been some scientific studies whereby the rat colony was given a specifically measured and an increasing amount of food each day.
Roof rats possessing a long tail.
Facts identification control latin name.
There are often many nests in close proximity to each other that form a social colony.
A typical rats nest will be home to about 5 to 10 rats.
They live in colonies with an alpha or dominant male.
Unlike the norway rat which is also known as a sewer or brown rat roof rats are smaller in size and their tails are longer than their bodies.
Once inside roof rats not only damage materials by gnawing through them but they also contaminate.
Roof rats will nest in hard to reach places such as underground burrows crawlspaces basements and sewers.
On the basis of the tail size.
And also because the norway rat can quickly adapt to the changes in the temperature compared to the roof rats.
1 2 inch with pointed ends up to 25 000 in a year roof rat habits life cycle facts.
The roof rat is very adaptable to many environmental conditions.
The roof rat feces are spindle shaped and reach about 1 2 inch in size the norway rat s droppings have a capsule shape.
Roof rats will also make tunnels through insulation and will leave chew marks wood pipes.
They have smooth fur with hairless scaly tails that are longer than their heads and.
Colony sizes for roof rats and norway rats can be influenced by many factors and therefore being able to give a definitive number for any given colony is almost impossible.
These rodents have long tails large ears and eyes and pointed noses.
Capable of squeezing into spaces smaller than half an inch these nocturnal critters love to nest in trees attics roof lines and ceilings as they prefer living more than four feet off the ground where they build leafy nests for their young.
Roof rats can also enter openings in walls eaves and roof from the branches of trees.
What do they look like.
The roof rat is the smaller of the two commensal rats as the norway rat is larger in size.
Trim all tree branches to further prevent entry.
