The Norway rat is the most common rat pest species in the US. It hails from Asia originally, but it arrived to the North American continent from Europe. Once here, it rapidly displaced the black rat and took over vast swathes of territory, pushing this latter subspecies to restricted areas of the country. Let’s take a closer look at the Norway rat and some must-know facts about it.
Appearance
The Norway rat is also known as the brown rat, which gives us an indication in regards to its fur coloration. Its fur ranges in coloration from light gray to brown, and the rat can reach lengths of up to 18 inches when you include the tail in the measurement. Its tail is hairless, and the fur has a uniform color.
Behavior
When inside the home, Norway rats will immediately attempt to build a nest. For this, they will use textile materials, wood shavings, and even insulation that they pull out of the wall. Rats will also have to constantly gnaw on various surfaces in order to file down their teeth, which never stop growing. They will gnaw on baseboards, furniture, and even electrical wiring.
Prevention
Norway rat infestations can be prevented by using several measures. To start, all the potential entry points in the home have to be sealed. These can be any cracks or gaps that are on the exterior wall and that are wider than half of an inch. Then you will have to keep all the food in the home, including the pet food, in sealed containers so that rats cannot smell it or gain access to it. Finally, it’s important to keep the home and the backyard as free of clutter as possible, in order to deny the rats any shelter.
Control
When it comes to control, there are two main options – traps and poisons. Traps are used for small infestations, and poisons are used when you are dealing with a large number of rats. A pest control pro will perform an inspection before implementing either one of these methods, and through this inspection, the pro will be able to find out the size of the infestation and the main areas of activity for the rats.
For more information about Norway rats, or if you suspect that you have a Norway rat infestation somewhere in your home, contact us today and one of our team members will help you out.