Rat Facts

Rat Facts

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1. They can contaminate food with their excrement.

2. The can generate unpleasant smells. 

3. Carry fleas or ticks which can harm pets or humans.

4. Gnaw and dig through food containers, wood, insulation, electrical wiring - gnawing of electrical wiring may cause fires.

5. Often the first thing you will notice is sound -squeaking, gnawing or movement in walls, cupboards and ceilings. Rats are generally more active at night.

6. The black rat (Rattus rattus) is the species of rat that carried fleas infected with the bubonic plague.  Bubonic plague killed 75 million people worldwide from the 1300s to the 18th century.

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7. Rats carry more than 40 harmful human diseases such as murine typhus, the plague, rat-bite fever, Weil’s disease, Chaga’s disease, rickettsial pox, tularemia, Lassa fever, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and rabies.

8. Rat-borne diseases are thought to have taken more human lives in the last 10 centuries than all the casualties of all the wars and revolutions combined.

9. Some species of rats can swim over a mile in open water, and can tread water for up to three days. Some species of rats can travel through sewer pipes and dive through water plumbing traps.

10. Rats can climb brick walls, trees, and telephone poles, and walk across telephone lines. Rats can fall from a height of 50 feet without getting hurt.

11. Rats can jump three feet in the air from a flat surface and leap more than four feet horizontally.

12. Rats can scamper through openings as small as a quarter. General rule: If a rat’s head fits into the hole then the body will follow.

13. Rats can chew through lead, cinder block, and aluminum sheeting. Rats’ teeth grow about four inches a year, and they have to gnaw on things to keep their teeth from pushing through their skulls.

14. Rats cannot go without food for more than 4 days. 

15. Rats are prolific. Mother rats can have as many as 8-12 offspring about every 30 days as long as there is enough food, shelter, and water. The young rat is  sexually mature at 3-4 months of age. Rats are nocturnal (active at night), so when you see rats during the day this may signify a rat population out of control, or you may be seeing weaker, less competitive rats that are forced out into the daylight by stronger more dominant rats.

16. Rats cause great damage to agricultural crops such as sugarcane, macadamia nuts, pineapple, coconuts, coffee, and other fruit and vegetable crops.

17. Rat-borne diseases are thought to have taken more human lives in the last 10 centuries than all the casualties of all the wars and revolutions combined.

18. Old World rats include the Norway rat, also known as the brown rat, sewer rat, or wharf rat, and the black rat (Rattus rattus), also called the roof rat.

19. Owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes, and weasels prey upon rats; snakes eat immature rats.

20. The average life span of a rat in the wild is less than one year, with females living longer than males.

21. Rats take care of injured and sick rats in their group.

22. Rats have excellent memories. Once they learn a navigation route, they won’t forget it!

23. Rats make happy "laughter" sounds when they play.

24. Rats tails help them to balance, communicate and regulate their body temperature

25. Rats can go longer than a camel without a drink of water.