Rats

Norway RatFew animals are hated and feared more than rats. They carry diseases including plague, jaundice, typhus, and others. They live in our homes, businesses, and destroy our crops. Rats are not a low-income problem - they have been found in penthouse apartments and across the street from the White House. In urban areas they live in or near waste management facilities or food processing and storage areas. Rarely is one home the source of a rat problem.

Rats rely on all of their senses except sight to move around in near dark. Rarely are they seen in broad daylight. Their territory usually extends some 150 feet from the nest, where several families of rats may live. Rats are incredibly strong and agile. Some of their feats include: Crawling through a 1/2" hole; walk along and climb wires; jump 36" above a flat surface; swim under water for more than 30 seconds; and chew through nearly anything - wood, lead pipes, cinder blocks, sheet metal, and adobe bricks.

One of the most important things to know about rats, is the differences between the two most common domestic rats, and the differences between young rats and adult mice. The chart and descriptions below should help you to understand.

*Click images for a larger version.

Do you have a problem with Rats in Albuquerque or Santa Fe?

To learn how you can exterminate Rats