Norway Rat
What do Norway Rats Look Like?
Norway rats are the largest rodent of the commensal rodents. The Norway rat, also known as the sewer rat, is typically brown with an off-white underbelly, 6” to 9” long (not including their long tail), and has black eyes. This rodent is the most widely distributed rat in the United States. Here in Florida, they are mostly concentrated around canals and sea ports.
When are Norway Rats Most Active?
Norway rats, like their other rodent friends, are mostly nocturnal. If you spot a Norway rat during the daylight hours this could be a good indication of a larger regional population.
What Attracts Norway Rats?
Norway rats are attracted to places that provide food, water, and shelter. Food for Norway rats can be just about anything that people eat. They like to burrow in the ground under structures.
Where are you likely to find Norway Rats?
These rats are burrowers, which means that they burrow under buildings and other structures to make nests. They like to make their nests near a water source, so they are usually found near canals, streams, lakes, seaports, pools, and ponds. Indoors, they are usually found in the lower levels of structures hiding in secluded places like inside the walls and in storage boxes.
Are Norway Rats Dangerous or Destructive?
The Norway Rats are the infamous creatures that carried and spread the bubonic plague in the middle ages. This prolific disease and virus carrier spends a lot of time in dirty filthy places and they freely roam around and inside our homes and businesses spreading the germs that they have picked up.
Norway rats can be destructive to the structure and foundation of the buildings that they make their burrows under. Indoors, they chew on just about anything which includes electrical wiring along with peoples’ possessions and furniture.
