The Rat Roof

The black rat rattus rattus also known as ship rat roof rat or house rat is a common long tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus rattus in the subfamily murinae.

The rat roof. The roof rat is the smaller of the two commensal rats as the norway rat is larger in size. How to get rid of rats on the roof as you can see i sometimes trap rats on the roof. Another difference is that the roof rat is more slender with a longer tail than the norway rat. Roof rats are superb agile climbers and prefer to both travel and forage for food above ground.

Roof rats are a health hazard being one of the oldest transmitters of diseases. The black rat is black to light brown in colour with a lighter underside. The common lifespan of these rodents is about one year. From rat bites and scratches to saliva and urine rats can cause many diseases.

It likely originated in the indian subcontinent but is now found worldwide. Roof rats are rodents with large eyes and ears a pointed nose and a scaly long tail. They can run along tree branches vines dense shrubbery and utility lines. In fact the most common name for the species rattus rattus is the roof rat.

They are named this because they spend 90 of their lives up off the ground in trees on power lines and more often than not because rats live in urban environments with people they are on the roof. The roof rat droppings are spindle shaped and reach about 1 2 inch in size a little smaller than those of the brown rat. It is a generalist omnivore and a serious pest to farmers because it. In dense populations these rodents will establish a social hierarchy wherein dominant males mate more than subordinate males.

Fur and colour. Both roof rats and norway rats a stockier variety of rat can infest homes. The roof rat gets its name from its tendency to find shelter in the upper parts of buildings. Roof rats are known by a variety of other names including palm rats fruit rats ship rats and alexandrian rats.

Their thin body has smooth and soft fur that is usually black or dark brown with intermixed spots of black. But don t be fooled into thinking that these are the only ways they can use to access a house they re also known to travel on the ground in areas where there s dense cover. Roof rats are also referred to as black rats or ship rats. Get rid of roof rats in four basic steps.

Roof rats become sexually mature between two and five months producing four to six litters per year that consist of six to eight young each. Roof rats get ferocious and tend to bite or scratch when threatened or cornered. What you ll want to look for are any signs that the rats are present including droppings tracks gnaw marks burrows runways and rodent sounds. For effective pest control you need to determine what type of rat is scurrying around your attic.

These bites or scratches can cause what is known as rat bite fever or even tetanus.