How Many Roof Rats In A Colony

The fur of roof rat is smooth while the fur of the norway rat is rough and shaggy.

How many roof rats in a colony.

There are often many nests in close proximity to each other that form a social colony. Both norway rats and roof rats use nests to hide and raise their young. Being excellent climbers they can easily access any part of the house through pipelines wires blocks of brick or concrete or even branches of tall trees. Habitat roof rats live in colonies and prefer to nest in the upper parts of buildings.

The adult roof rat is about 7 10 inches long and weighs about 5 9 ounces. Inspecting roof rat. If you pull the tail back over the body it will reach over its head. They live in colonies with an alpha or dominant male.

To start effective control as soon as possible keep an eye out for signs of roof rats in homes. That being said there are some ways to make an estimate about the size of a rat colony. A typical rats nest will be home to about 5 to 10 rats. Because the pests are nocturnal and tend to nest overhead infestations can be difficult to spot.

Roof rats can also enter openings in walls eaves and roof from the branches of trees. Although roof rats prefer warm coastal climates they thrive in many regions of the u s. How to prevent a roof rat infestation. The roof rat has a long tail which is longer than the combined length of the head and body.

The roof rat is very adaptable to many environmental conditions. To make an ideal home roof rats need food water and a cozy nesting site so clean out wood piles rake up fallen vegetation and fruit and do not leave pet food or water outside especially overnight. Trim all tree branches to further prevent entry. Roof rats live in colonies and even forage in small groups of ten or so.

Roof rats only live up to one year but have the ability to produce as many as 40 new offspring during their lifetime. To prevent rats from entering your home seal up any holes or cracks larger than a quarter. The size of a colony can be on the order of 100 rats if sufficient food is present to support the population. Roof rat habits life cycle facts.