Norway rats are brown to reddish gray with white or grayish bellies. Adults can grow as long as 18 inches in body length with tails five to eight inches long. These rats usually live no longer than a year, but each female can produce up to 74 offspring in that time.
In the country, Norway rats nest in burrows, in woodpiles or under piles of debris inside a home or close to its foundation. They line their nests with shredded paper and cloth. Because these pests have a collapsible skeleton, they can sneak inside your home through a hole no larger than a quarter. They’re also good swimmers and climbers, so if you have ivy climbing up your house they may use it to get inside.
In cities, rats burrow under slabs of concrete, near trash cans and dumpsters, under sheds and near bird feeders. Sometimes, rats can enter into the home from areas in the basement, like toilets that have not been used and are dried out allowing rats in from the sewer. In fact, Baltimore has been rated #3 on the Top 10 Worst Rat Cities in the World posted by the Animal Planet.
Your first clue that you have a rat problem, besides the live sightings, is when you spot their raisin-sized droppings around the food storage or trash disposal areas.
The big brown rats that invade homes throughout the U.S. are called Norway rats, but they actually originated in central Asia. You may know them as sewer rats, street rats or wharf rats. Whatever you call them, Norway rats are dangerous home invaders.
- They can destroy or contaminate food supplies.
- Their feces and urine can be a source of salmonella and E-coli infections and Hantavirus, a respiratory disease.
- They can introduce fleas, ticks and mites into your home.
- They can damage structures by gnawing on building materials, including wood, plastic, lead pipes, and electrical wires.
As a Home Protection Plan customer, if you’re not satisfied with our pest control service, we will service your home at no additional cost until your issue is solved or receive your money back from your last scheduled service.
- Make sure your trash containers are in good shape and tightly sealed.
- Eliminate standing water on your property, as rats require 1 to do 2 oz. of freshwater daily.
- Store pantry foods and dog food in rodent-proof metal or glass containers.
- Stop feeding the birds at outdoor feeders close to your home.
- Pick up any pet waste right away.
- Make sure your exterior is sealed with a high quality sealant.
Call in the Brothers to Eliminate These Rodents
Norway rats can be hard to eliminate, but Brody Brothers’ rodent control team can clear them out of your home. We will take actions both inside and outside of your home:
- Outside, we will help identify food and water sources and work with you to eliminate them, as well as seal possible entrance holes and place product in locked stations or directly inside burrows. The key is to provide/reapply enough bait to satisfy rats’ enormous appetite.
- We will follow this up by strategically placing rodent devices in areas where rodents can be easily removed, rather than dying in inaccessible areas, such as behind walls.
If you’ve seen signs of rat infestation, don’t delay. Call us today at 410-653-2121 to protect your family’s health with top-notch rodent control in Baltimore, MD.
Not the right rodent? Check out our Rodent Control page to correctly identify the pest in your home.
