Pest or Vermin:
Rats
The common brown rat (Rattus Norvegicus)
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.
Appearance:
These rats are usually brown to grey in colour with a lighter underside,ears are
small, the eyes are also small. ,tails are shorter than head and body, andruns
with its tail and body close the ground.
Food:
They will eat almost anything but a rat must drink 40mls of water per day.
Habitat:
At ground level and below ground level in burrows, sewers and drains.
Rats sometimes get into buildings through old or
damaged pipes and services.
Breeding:
Pregnancy: 3 weeks
Litters per year: 3 – 6
Litter size: 8 – 10
Mature: 3 months
Life span: 12 months
Droppings: 40 per day on average
Diseases:
Salmonella is carried by rats and also Weils disease which is a type of jaundice,
this is found in their urine and 50% of rats carry it.
Damage:
They will gnaw through electric cables potentially causing fires and often will
gnaw water pipes / gas pipes. Sometimes they will damage roof timbers and the
structure of buildings.