Though there are many types of rats found across the mid atlantic states two that cause issues for residents and business owners are roof rats and norway rats.
Pictures of roof rats and norway rats.
Roof rats prefer to build their nests and live in dense cover and shadows of thick shrubbery vine covered trees power lines and.
Females can have three to 12 litters per year and litters may number from 4 to 22.
And also because the norway rat can quickly adapt to the changes in the temperature compared to the roof rats.
Also known as brown rats or sewer rats these pests can grow to 15 inches in length from nose to tail.
Roof rats are not as common as norway rats.
Roof rat nests.
They have stiff dark gray or brown fur and scaly tails to go with their hairless ears.
While these pests may look the same to the untrained eye they do differ in appearance size and behavior.
Due to their genes being 90 equivalent to that of humans medical research on rats has allowed for many significant strides in the study of human diseases.
Also called the black rat ship rat or old english rat the roof rat measures 6 8 inches long and has a tail that s slightly longer than its body.
Because norway rats tend to be larger their droppings are also larger about 3 4 inch long whereas roof rat droppings are usually about half an inch.
Norway rats are large bulky rodents nearly synonymous with human habitation.
Thus roof rats usually have little problems living and making their nests in places that are located off the ground unlike their rat cousins the norway rat which is an underground burrower.
Adults generally live up to one year in the wild.
Norway rats and roof rats will leave a hind foot track of about 3 4 1 inch where a mouse s track measure s 3 8 of an inch or less.
Norway rats will leave a mark as they drag their tails between their feet.
Facts about rats roof rat or black rat.
The tail markings and hind feet markings of the norway rat and of the roof rat are hard to differentiate between each other.
Roof rats will also make tunnels through insulation and will leave chew marks wood pipes.
On the basis of the tail size.
Differences between roof rats and norway rats.
Norway rats tend to look more well fed and rounder than roof rats with small eyes close set ears and a shorter tail.
Roof rats possessing a long tail.
Roof rats being the smaller sized ones with a considerably slender body.
They re typically found within 100 miles of the gulf coastline or the coastline of the western united states.
The roof rat feces are spindle shaped and reach about 1 2 inch in size the norway rat s droppings have a capsule shape.
The droppings are capsule shaped and have blunt ends.
Norway rats reach sexual maturity in 2 to 5 months and can breed any month of the year.
While roof rats excel scaling your roof norway rats are powerful swimmers.