The Two Types Of Rats Seen As Pests
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If considered from a scientific position, rats are simply animals that belong to the Rattus genus of the family Muridae. Rats are also acknowledged to be the most dominant rodent species in the animal world. It has been hypothesized that the two well-known kinds of rats, which are the Norway and the ship rats, originated from Asia. These 2 types of rats have now proliferated in virtually all parts of the world.
Black Rats
The black rats are sometimes called roof rats & ship rats, scientifically named Rattus Rattus. They are usually black, slender, 16-21 cm long & weigh about 80-300 gram. Their tail is longer than the head and body and their nose & muzzle are pointed. They are called roof rats because they are climbers. Their paws enable them to climb & make nestles in higher parts of homes, rafters, attics and crossbeams of buildings.
Norway Rat
The Norway rat is sometimes known as the house rat, brown rat, gray rat, barn rat or wharf rat. It is one of the best-known & is the larger of the two. Their scientific name is Rattus norvegicus. They are mostly grayish-brown, with a lighter colored stomach. A fully-grown brown rat is 18 to 26 cm long and weighs between 400 & 600 gm. Their nose & muzzle are blunt, and they have a tail shorter than its body. They prefer moist conditions & nest in deep burrows.
At around 3 – 4 months of age, these rats start to breed. They breed 1 to 13 times each year & produce 1 to 22 in a litter. Black rats and brown rats eat about the same things. Their diet mainly includes cereals, meats, seeds, nuts, grains, veggies, fruits and invertebrates. They eat about one-third of their weight in food every 24 hours.
Rats are known hosts of deadly illnesses and germs, which are all fatal to the health of both human and livestock, and they can also be destructive to property. Some of the diseases potentially deadly to humans that spread through rats are salmonella food poisoning, toxoplasmosis, Weil’s disease and plague.
Why do you have to go through the effort of administering pest control measures for your household? Although it might not have crossed your mind right now, one day in the future you may put your house up for sale. No matter how attractive your house is from the outside, real estate agents and buyers would avoid it if they notice marks of pest infestations. A termite colony existing in your house’s foundation could very well diminish the asking price of your property. Furthermore, banks usually refuse loan applications with residences used as collaterals if they discover that the house is overriden with pests; like potential buyers, banks view pest-infested homes as bad investments. You could treat the money you pay for a professional pest control company to estimate the cost and accomplish pest eradication in your home as an investment for the future resale value of your home.
If you are going through a serious mosquito and bed bug problem in your household, we can be of great assistance to you and your family in making sure that you will never be bothered by these pests in your houses anymore.
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