Get rid of roof rats in four basic steps.
Grey roof rat.
Adult roof rats measure 6 8 16 20 cm when combining their head and body length.
Thus traps should be placed off the ground in the attic rafters of the garage on shelves and ledges.
These rats grow up to 500g in weight and usually have a blunt nose thicker body and small ears.
The black rat carries a variety of different monikers some in reference to geography some in reference to habitat and some to color variants.
Roof rats are very similar in appearance to house mice and are therefore mistaken as house mice.
The brown rat is up to 40 cm in length and it s tail is shorter than it s body and head.
The roof rat also called gray bellied rat white bellied rat alexandrine rat black rat and ship rat.
The alexandrine rat rattus alexandrines geoffroy is brown with gray streaks also known as agouti with a gray belly.
The brown rat rattus norvegicus also known as the common rat street rat sewer rat hanover rat norway rat norwegian rat parisian rat or wharf rat is a widespread species of common rat one of the largest muroids it is a brown or grey rodent with a head and body length of up to 28 cm 11 in long and a tail slightly shorter than that.
Generally identified by color three sub species of roof rats are known.
That s a lot of babies.
Roof rats have smaller and sleeker bodies than norway rats and their fur is smooth.
This rat is less of a climber so traps should be placed in hidden areas along walls in dark corners etc.
The roof rat rattus rattus linnaeus is smaller in size than the norway rat.
The black rat rattus rattus linnaeus is black with a gray belly.
The black rat is a medium sized rat that has a length of 6 8 inches and typically weighs about half a pound.
And the fruit rat rattus frugivorus rafinesque has an agouti back and white belly.
One of the distinctive features of the roof rats is their greyish or whitish underside that is the reason they are often referred to as grey bellied or white bellied rats.
Roof rats are generally black in color while norway rats are brown or gray.
Roof rats are long and thin rodents that have large eyes and ears a pointed nose and a scaly tail.
Roof rats have soft and smooth fur that is typically brown with intermixed spots of black.
What you ll want to look for are any signs that the rats are present including droppings tracks gnaw marks burrows runways and rodent sounds.
Other roof rat features include large ears with very little hair and pointy faces.
Another difference is that the roof rat is more slender with a longer tail than the norway rat.
Their undersides are often white gray or black.