The mere sight of a rat usually leads to ear piercing shrieks and feelings of disgust. Finding a rat in your home can cause even more feeling of panic and horror. Unfortunately, there are many people who suffer from rat infestations throughout Canada, particularly Toronto. Brown rats are among one of the most common rats that invade people’s homes and businesses.
Despite the fact that they are a nuisance, they are also rather interesting creatures. Understanding everything there is to know about brown rats can help you out, too. Knowledge of brown rats can help you understand what it is that attracts them and how they behave. With knowledge comes the power to figure out how to put an end to a rat invasion.
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Rat Facts
There are very interesting facts about rats. Some of the facts may seem like information you already know, but there are also plenty of pretty surprising facts, too.
Origination
Rats originated in Australia and Asia, but now currently live throughout the world. There is hardly anywhere that you can go where you will not find a rat. Over the years, rats learned to adapt so they could survive their surroundings. Once they found their way to other parts of the world, they had to learn to adapt so they could continue to thrive.
Appearance
The brown rat, also sometimes called the Norwegian brown rat or sewer rat, has short, thick brown fur, hence the name “brown” rat. They have small, beady eyes that are usually black or ruby red in color that sits within their slanted face. In comparison to black rats, the brown rat has a relatively short tail. Typically, brown rats grow between 15 and 18 cm long, though it can grow up to 25 cm and longer.
Reproduction
Brown rats have the ability to reproduce several times a year, which is why it is possible for their population to grow wildly out of control. A wild rat typically only lives between 10 and 14 months, but they can live for as long as three years. In that time, a female rat can breed between 5 and 7 times, and each litter can contain anywhere from six to a dozen babies.
Survivability
Rats are survivors. The brown rat will often enter homes through sewer systems. They use the sewer systems to access plumbing pipes, which they then use to swim up into a home using the pipes of a toilet. Rats can tread water for up to three days and swim approximately a mile before feeling fatigued.
Although you can attempt to keep food cleaned up and put away, that is not enough to deter the brown rat. There is a reason brown rats often live in sewers and enter homes through toilets. They can find an amazing food source in the sewers. There are plenty of people who flush food scraps down the toilet.
If food scraps run low, rats survive using coprophagy, which is the practice of eating the feces of another species. Feces contains food particles, so a rat is not beyond scavenging those food particles out of human feces if necessary. A rat will literally do near anything to ensure its own survival.
Thankfully, that does not mean there is nothing you can do. If you have an infestation of brown rats, call a professional to assist you in removing them from your home. A professional can ensure the humane removal of rats using both lethal and non-lethal methods as necessary. Since Canada has laws preventing the unnecessary pain and suffering of living wild animals, it is best to let a professional handle all your rat removal needs. Call the Exterminators at 647-496-2211 or check our online shop for some rat control products.
