Rats are among the most invasive mammals in Europe, according to a wide-ranging assessment. A large rodent can measure up to 40cm in length (including the tail), fur colour can vary but is generally dull grey.Rats are neophobic, fearful of new objects within their environment. Until Rats are confident of their safety they will often avoid any new areas, often taking upto two weeks before entering a bait station for the first time. If a Rat has had a bad experience it will communicate this with other group members by urinating on the baiting point, thereby causing the station to be avoided completely.

Rats typically do not travel great distances, usually occupying a territory of 100 to 250 metres, although they have been known to travel as far as two kilometres (1.25miles) in search of food.

Rats spend most of their life at ground level moving within an established series of definite routes and trails. Rats consume on average 10% of their total body weight per day feeding almost completely from one or two sites a night. Rats locate themselves in areas of good cover so they can safely move between feeding, nesting and watering site.

There are two species of rat in Britain, Rattus norvegicus which is commonly known as the Brown Rat and Rattus rattus which has the common names Black Rat or Ship Rat. Rats prefer small enclosed spaces and get around by smell and touch.

Rats are equipped with powerful jaw muscles and two pairs of sharp incisor teeth which enable them to gnaw through various materials including water and gas pipes and electrical cabling – not only potentially dangerous but also very costly.

They are physically incredibly strong and can leap and climb up vertical surfaces in order to gain access to a building and their burrowing habits can undermine foundations and damage water courses.

They are also capable of spreading many diseases from their filthy surroundings in sewers or refuse tips and can transmit food poisoning, Weil’s disease (from which about ten people and a number of dogs die each year in the UK), murine typhus, rat bite fever, trichinosis and other diseases. They contaminate more food than they consume and their urine can pollute stagnant water.

Do not encourage rats by leaving scraps of food out of doors. If you feed garden birds, use a bird table or feeder basket. At Protectahome Pest Control we have at our disposal a range of rodenticide products which are not available to the general public which would be administered by fully trained and qualified Protectahome personnel.

For more information on Pest Control by Protectahome and associated services we provide, please see our Case Studies or to arrange for a Technician to visit a property please Contact Us on 0800 055 6966 or alternatively email us via pestcontrol@protectahome.co.uk