Pest Control for Mice and Rats

Although Roof Rats are usually described as omnivorous, in practice they seem to consume a high proportion of vegetable and fruit material. Where they have ready access to foods with such a high moisture content, it is likely that they have a much reduced need for free water.

The Roof Rat can live in somewhat similar locations to those preferred by the Norway Rat; but if territories overlap, it is likely that the Roof Rat will be driven out.

Habits – Roof rats live in close association with man. They seldom become established as feral animals as do the Norway rats.

They inhabit grocery stores , warehouses, feed stores, and poultry houses and are very common in cotton gins and associated grain warehouses. They may live near the ground, but usually they frequent the attics, rafters, and crossbeams of the buildings. They make typical runways along pipes, beams or wires, up and down the studding, or along the horizontal ceiling joists, often leaving a dark-colored layer of grease and dirt to mark their travel ways.

Like the Norway rat , the roof rat is largely nocturnal and only where populations are relatively high does one see them frequently in the daytime.

They feed on a wide variety of food items , including grains, meats, and almost any item that has nutritional value.

Roof rats breed throughout the year , with two peaks of production. The gestation period is approximately 21 days, and the number of young per litter averages almost seven. They mature rather rapidly, are weaned when about 3 weeks old, and are able to reproduce when approximately 3 months old.

The roof rat is destructive to property and foodstuffs. Also, it plays an important part in the transmission of such human diseases as endemic typhus, rat bite fever, and bubonic plague.

Norway Rats are typically omnivorous in their feeding habits and will eat all human and animal foods and feedstock’s. They do need regular access to liquid water; so in conditions where their food is low in moisture and available water is minimal, liquid bait preparations may be effective.

Norway Rats are very much creatures of habit, and once they have explored a new environment, they establish quite rigid traveling routes. Being neophobic, they may take some days to adjust to new objects such as bait stations and traps.

In cases where the territory of Norway Rats overlaps that with other rodent species, it is entirely likely that the Norway Rat will become the dominant species, often driving others out of the area.

In their general behavior, mice are much more curious and exploratory than rats, so trapping programs for mouse control can often be very effective. They are very good climbers, jumpers and swimmers, although they do not seem to swim very often.

In their feeding habits, mice are generally regarded as being quite omnivorous. A variety of foods (eg. nuts, grains, meat and animal feeds) may all be acceptable on baits or traps, depending on the main diet of the resident population. They are well adapted to low water intake and can live on just the moisture in grain without any supplementary intake of water. Preferably, though, they seem to enjoy dry cereals if free water is available. Mixing of certain baits with water can make them very attractive. Mice feed mostly around dusk and during the night, but if the area is relatively undisturbed, they may feed during the day as well. They seem to prefer to eat small amounts of food at various locations and at frequent intervals. Even though they do not directly consume large amounts of food, damage due to gnawing, nibbling and contamination with urine and feces can be very widespread. In most cases, mice are not as suspicious of new food (baits) as rats.

In rural areas the occasional combination of mild weather, abundant food and shelter, and a reduction of natural enemies may cause mice to multiply to plague proportions, and then to migrate. Massive migrations can cause very significant damage and losses to farms and other buildings.