Roof Rats Have Separate Colonies

Where rats live rats habitat will vary depending on both their species and on rural or country setting.

Roof rats have separate colonies.

Roof rats rattus rattus also known as black rats are small typically dark gray rodents. However the two most common types found in the united states are the norway rat and the roof rat. Both can mate and rapidly multiply causing an overpopulation of rats that can cause a health and safety issue for the people and animals that are surrounded by them. Roof rats are long and thin rodents that have large eyes and ears a pointed nose and a scaly tail.

If you were to pull the tail back over the body the roof rat s tail would extend past its snout. Roof rats have soft and smooth fur that is typically brown with intermixed spots of black. Being excellent climbers they can easily access any part of the house through pipelines wires blocks of brick or concrete or even branches of tall trees. So where do rats hide.

Roof rats weight 4 to 12 ounces and are 13 3 4 to 17 3 4 from the tip of nose to end of tail. Roof rats live in colonies and even forage in small groups of ten or so. Adult roof rats measure 6 8 16 20 cm when combining their head and body length. The female roof rat has ten mammary glands.

Rattus rattus is black to slate colored on both back and belly. The key difference is that roof rats live and nest in high places while norway rats live and nest in colonies that are at or below ground level. They have no notch on inside of their upper front teeth. Their undersides are often white gray or black.