Rat Low Poly Papercraft by Animapapir

15 Oct, 2021

Rats are one of the toughest animals on earth. Considered a secretive and intelligent animal, rats are a common nuisance that humans always face once they make it into their homes or businesses.

There are many reasons why rat pests are difficult to control. Apart from being good at hiding, they are very agile pests that are able to get into any building with or through many ways. Rats will also not hesitate to play "hide and seek" with humans who try to catch them.

On this page, we've compiled a list of the most common questions we receive from our customers, so you can learn everything there is to know about Rat.

Choose one of the questions about Rat below to get the right answer.

Frequently asked questions about Rat

What is a house Rat?
Where do rats live?
What do rats eat?
How long do rats live?
How long does it take for Rat to breed?
What diseases are carried by rats?
Why do rats bite everything?

Questions about Rat in the house

What causes Rat to enter the house?
When do rats go out looking for food?
What are the signs of a lot of rats in the house?
How do rats enter the house?

Questions about rat exterminator services

What is house Rat control?
Why should you entrust a professional pest control to get rid of rats?
How do pest control companies get rid of rats?
How much does a rat exterminator cost?

Questions about how to prevent rat pests

How to prevent Rat from entering the house?
How to prevent Rat from entering the car engine?

Frequently asked questions about Rat

Where do rats live?

Rats can live anywhere. However, where rats live will vary depending on the particular rat species and the area in which they are located (e.g. rural or urban areas). They are able to quickly adapt to diverse environments, both in the wild and close to human settlements.

Wild rats that live in the wild like in forests or jungles prefer to live in trees and dig underground holes to store food and raise their young as well as protect themselves from their natural predators such as snakes and owls.

On the other hand, when rats live in close proximity to humans, for example in urban ecosystems, they can live almost anywhere as long as they have sufficient access to food sources and are suitable for shelter and breeding.

The roof rat or house rat (Rattus rattus) as the name implies - tends to have shelter at the top of buildings, such as ceilings or attics.
The type of sewer rat or also known as the Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus) chooses a place to live close to the ground. This type of rat is generally found living in places such as piles of garbage or under the concrete of a building.

What do rats eat?

food eaten by Rat

Rats are opportunistic eaters, meaning they will eat anything they can find. However, the food that rats eat depends on the place they live in.

In the wild, the diet of rats consists of grains, fruits and vegetables. In urban areas, the food that rats like comes from the leftovers of human food they find in the trash, all the food eaten by humans as well as the leftovers of pets.

How long do rats live?

How long rats live or how long rats live will be very difficult to determine. But one of the factors that will affect how long rats live is the habitat they choose.

This means that rats that are kept as pets by humans tend to have a longer lifespan than rats that live in the wild. Types of pet rats will always get the supplies they need to outlive their owners, this includes food, water and a cage as a shelter.

Thus, wild rats will actually live shorter than domestic rats. One of the factors that affect the duration of life of wild rats is the presence of predators they will find in the wild.

Thus, it can be concluded that the average pet rat can live up to 4 years and wild rats will generally only live for 2 - 3 years.

How long does it take for Rat to breed?

Rats have a reputation for being a fast-growing pest.

It only takes a few pairs of rats to double their population to a large number in a short time to invade a place.

Pregnancy of female rats lasts 21-23 days, and in one gestation period female rats can contain 12 rats, although generally 5-10 rats are produced more often.

Rats reach sexual maturity after 4-5 weeks, meaning the population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially.

What diseases are carried by rats?

Rats are not only a nuisance but also have the potential to spread several diseases that are harmful to human health.

Rats are known to transmit more than 35 dangerous diseases to humans. Diseases carried by rats are known to spread to humans through direct or indirect contact, for example:

When dealing with infected live or dead Rat
Direct contact with rat droppings, this also includes rat urine or saliva
Get bitten or scratched by a rat
Consuming food or drink contaminated with rat droppings or rat urine

Some of the diseases carried by rats include:

Salmonella – Is one of the most common types of food poisoning caused when consuming food or drink that has been contaminated with urine and rat droppings.
Hantavirus – This is a flu-like illness that is transmitted by rats to humans through contact with the urine and feces of infected rats or through dust containing infectious particles.
Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) – Is a disease caused by the Leptospira bacteria that is spread through the urine or blood of infected rats. Humans generally get this disease due to direct contact with soil or water that has been contaminated with the urine of infected rats.
Rat-bite fever – An infection caused by two bacteria, namely Streptobacillus moniliformis and Spirillum minus. Humans generally get the disease when bitten or scratched by an infected rat. However, this disease can also be transmitted through consumption of food or drink contaminated with rat droppings or urine.

Why do rats bite everything?

Rats have large, strong and sharp teeth. In total the rats have 16 teeth, but there are only 4 that the rats use specifically for chewing and biting. These four long, sharp teeth, known as incisors or front teeth, are located at the top and bottom of their mouths.

Rat teeth continue to grow throughout their lives. Therefore, chewing or biting a lot of objects will really help Rat to keep their teeth from growing too big and sharp.

Incisors that are too sharp often result in death in rats, because incisors that are too long and sharp will make it difficult for rats to eat.

Here are some of the things rats are capable of chewing or biting, these include:

Power cable
Plastic
Wood or wooden blocks
Metal and tin
Wire
Glass

Although there is a possibility of rats biting humans, it is very rare to find cases of humans being bitten by rats. Rats only attack humans when they feel stressed or in a cornered situation.

However, you must remain aware of the risk of rat bites in humans or also known as rat bite fever because it can seriously threaten human health.

Questions about Rat in the house

What causes Rat to enter the house?

Similar to the reasons why pests such as cockroaches and termites are attracted to attack your home, there are at least three main factors that cause Rat to enter your home, namely:

Looking for food sources
Looking for drink sources
Looking for a place to take shelter

Food is far more important than water to rats. Rats will eat anything humans eat without exception. They need to eat something to survive, and can only survive for 2 - 4 days without food.

On the other hand, rats can live more than a week without water and often get their mineral needs from foods with high water content such as fruits or vegetables.

Rats build the shelter they need from the piles of trash that can be easily found around any area of your home.

When do rats go out looking for food?

By nature, rats are nocturnal animals. Rats are most active between dusk and dawn and generally hide from humans during the day. However, when food and water sources are increasingly limited, it is not impossible if you can see rats roaming the house during the day.
What are the signs of a lot of rats in the house?
rat droppings

The following are some of the characteristics of a rat house that every homeowner needs to know:

Live rats or dead rats are found – This is the clearest sign that there is a rat problem in the house.
Rat droppings – Rats will leave about 40 droppings or faeces each night. Characteristics of rat droppings is that it has a dark color, is pointed and has a length of 10-14mm.
Rat fat trails (smears) – Due to their poor eyesight, rats will leave grease trails or smears on the surface of walls or boards they pass through.
Rat scratching or scratching sound – Heard in ceilings, attics, walls or under floors when rats run around.
Rat hole – One type of house Rat, the manhole rat or Norwegian rat can dig holes with a diameter of about 6-9 cm. Rat-holes of this type can be found anywhere, in places that are relatively undisturbed by humans and close to food sources.
Rat nests – Can be found in attics, roofs, and even in wall cavities. Rats will utilize human debris such as attic insulation, cardboard and/or use torn from materials such as newspaper and other soft materials to build nests.
Rat footprints – Rats leave footprints and tail marks in dusty, rarely used areas of buildings. Use a flashlight to see Rat footprints clearly. To determine if there are active rats in the house, sprinkle flour or fine powder along the floor near the Rat footprints and check for new tracks the next day.

Be sure to contact pest control if you hear any scratching or scratching noises in the attic, as this could be a strong indication that you currently have a roof rat problem in your home.

How do rats enter the house?

Rats are very difficult animals to control, especially if they manage to gain access to your home. Once rats enter your home, they can cause several dangerous situations for your family and home.

Some of the dangers of rats in the house include the risk of fire, short circuit or short circuit, contamination of food and drink, and transmitting several dangerous diseases to humans.

There are many entry points that Rat use to enter your home, such as:

Cracks in the wall
Cracks in building foundations
Small gaps around windows and doors
Damage to the roof
Home water drainage system

How to prevent Rat from entering the house?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, the best thing you can do as a way to prevent rats from entering your home is to make your home less attractive to them.

There are a few tips to keep rats out of your home that you can do yourself at home, these include:

Clean the house from used items such as piles of newspapers and cardboard which are often used by Rat to hide in your house
Regularly clean your garden and yard of wood debris, shrubs, and weeds adhering to or close to the structure of your home
Seal all cracks, cracks and holes on the outside of your house including the roof structure of the house
Make sure the trash can outside the house is equipped with a lid, and place it at a sufficient distance from your home.
Regularly to wash the trash in the house
Avoid leaving or leaving trash in your home overnight.
Store your food in tightly closed containers.
Never leave open food in the kitchen or dining area when it is not or is about to be consumed

We strongly advise you to act quickly to get rid of the rats and prevent the rat infestation from developing.

How to prevent Rat from entering the car engine?

rat in car hood

The story of a rat getting into the hood of a car may sound familiar to many people, especially to car owners.

If you are one of those people who have found rats nesting in the hood of your car, it is not impossible that you are in big trouble right now.

Why is the hood of a car a rat's nest?

Rats are always looking for a dark, sheltered, and undisturbed location by humans. Your car's engine provides an ideal shelter for rats to store food, rest, and breed for rats.

But the problem is the hood of your car contains hundreds of electrical wires that are very susceptible to being bitten by rats. The rat's habit of biting the wires inside the hood of the car will force you to spend a lot of money on repairing your favorite vehicle.

Rat can enter your car's engine in many places, including:

AC ventilation
Pedal axle
Cable hole
Steering column

While it won't be possible for you to completely eradicate rats in your area, there are things you can do to keep the hood from getting in contact with rats.

When you park the car in the indoor garage (indoor)

Clean up potential rat hiding spots in a car garage – Remove all items that can harbor rats and that commonly accumulate in the garage, such as piles of newspapers, cardboard, cardboard, and bottle crates or crates.
Make sure there is sufficient lighting into the car garage – Car garages are generally humid, dark and lack natural lighting from sunlight. This situation is often used by rats to build their nests in the engine of your car.
Avoid leaving the car unused for a long time – There are many people who have 2 or more cars parked in the garage, and not all of them are used regularly by their owners. Leaving your car unused for a long time is a bad idea! In addition to being highly recommended to maintain a car engine, heating the car engine regularly will reduce the possibility that the car engine is susceptible to rat attacks.
Remove all food around your car – Make sure there is no dry pet food around your car, and avoid storing emergency food ingredients in the garage.

When you park the car in the home carport (outdoor)

Periodically open the hood of the car – This method is considered efficient for vehicle owners who park their car in the carport or outside area to prevent your car engine from being attractive to become a rat's nest.
Eliminate rat hiding places – If your carport is adjacent to your yard, make sure the yard is clean of weeds and cover all points where rats can gain access to your yard.
Be more alert when the rainy season arrives – This is because your car engine is a warm place that rats really like during the rainy season.

If you find signs of rat presence on your property and think they point to a serious attack, enlisting the help of a professional rat exterminator to solve your existing rat problem is the only best solution you have!