It is likely that you know what a rat is. Rats in Oakland homes are a common sight. But do you know that there are two types of rats in Oakland? One is a great climber and will usually get into homes from the top. These are called roof rats. The other is a ground-dwelling rat that usually enters through low points of a home. These are called Norway rats. Today, we’re focusing on Norway rats.
A Norway rat goes by many names. It may be called a sewer rat, a wharf rat, a brown rat, a fancy rat, a laboratory rat, and more. These names give insight into what you can expect from these creatures.Sewer Rats — Yup, they live in sewers. This is because they are great swimmers and they can even swim underwater. Some Norway rats have shown (in laboratory tests) that they are able to swim up culvert lines and get into homes through basement and ground-floor toilets. If a Norway rat gets into your home from a sewer, there is a greater chance that it has harmful organisms on its body and inside its digestive tract. And fleas from sewer rats can be deadly houseguests.
Wharf Rats — Norway rats are often found near water. Since Oakland is part of the Bay Area, it isn’t surprising that we deal with a lot of Norway rat issues.
Brown Rats — This name is help for identification. If you’re seeing brown rats with a gray or white underbelly running around in your Oakland yard, it is probably a Norway rat.
Fancy Rat or Laboratory Rat — These rats can be kept as pets or used in laboratories. As a pet, they’re actually pretty great. Norway rats groom themselves frequently and they have a fairly good temperament. But their grooming activities cause them to ingest harmful organisms when they live in sewers or climb around in dumpsters. This makes their feces and urine a source of disease contamination.
Norway Rat Control
It is difficult to control Norway rats. Here are three reasons why:
- Norway rats constantly chew to file their teeth down. This leads them to accidentally chew their way into Oakland homes.
- A Norway rat can compact its body to squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter. It doesn’t need much of a hole to get in. And if a hole is too small, it can easily make it larger.
- Norway rats are numerous.
Check out 4 Things Every San Jose Resident Should Know About Rats for more insight into Oakland rat control or reach out to Smith’s Pest Management for assistance with the control of these yard and home pests. While we specialize in Gopher trapping, our expertly-trained technicians are also equipped to effectively eliminate and control Norway rats. Give us a call or connect with us right here on our webpage. We’re standing by to help.
