The Brown or Norway Rat
The rat that is the most likely to be come across in England is the Brown
Rat. The Black rat may be found in ports, but even this is rare.
 Rats need
food, water & cover. It is usually our fault that rats get to be a problem.
If rats are getting into a house then there must be a building defect. The
most common cause of problems in gardens is birds being fed. Bird feeding
supplies rats with a high energy food at regular intervals in a fixed location.
Birds are messy feeders and small amounts of nuts pecked off a feeder will
support a population of rats which will breed all year round and then push
out its young to the surrounding area to start new colony's. Bird feeding
can damage wildlife by increasing the amount of rats, mice & grey squirrels
in an area to an artificially high number which all can be harmful to the
natural wildlife population. Many people die each year after catching diseases
carried by rats & mice. Compost heaps often provide a warm place to
live in the winter with a regular supply of food if used at regular intervals.
Rats are also attracted to the smell of rubbish (bins) and any other animals.
This includes predator animals such as dogs. The reason for this is that
in the wild rats would eat left over food & droppings from wolves, foxes & other
animals. The same applies to chickens, rabbits & guinea pigs. So if
you have pets clear up droppings, check that their food is stored in a rat
proof container, that litter & droppings are not put on compost heaps & that
hutches & runs are rat proof. Once a rat infestation is evident it is
important this infestation is treated as quickly as possible.
The Brown Rat came effort Northern Asia and followed man through out to
the world. The rats incisors are made of two layers of substance, one at the
front hard and soft at the back. This leaves a chisel shaped tooth as it wears.
The rat has to keep gnawing to keep the incisors down. They grow 2.5 inches
per year and would kill the rat if not kept down. The rat is unable to
vomit but can chew food with it’s molars and then spit it out. There
is a large gap between the front incisors and the molars. Rats are known to
carry 22 diseases. 40% of rats in Britain carry Salmonella. Rats live in colonies
with dominant and subordinate rats. In heavy infestations rats can be seen
feeding during the day. |
These are usually the subordinate, old and sick rats who feed in the
more dangerous time of the day to avoid the aggressive dominant rats.
Rats travel up to 0.5 mile for food. Where they roam depends on dominance.
A dominant rat will move at will amongst other rats and to where the
food is. A subordinate racial have to travel away to avoid other rats
and find food. Rats have very poor eyesight, only one twentieth that
of man. They have good hearing and a acute sense of smell which helps
them follow their runs. Rats move as near to cover as possible using
runs regular. Runs are told by lack of vegetation, smear marks, footprints
and packed down earth. Rats lie in burrows dug into the earth and can
cause damage by collecting nesting materials, soiling food with urine,
excreta and hairs. The burrows can resemble small rabbit holes. They
may dig the burrows in earth or in compost heaps but they are adaptable
and make use of areas under sheds or inside buildings. Rats are extremely
intelligent, adapting to their surroundings. This is what makes them
one of the most successful animals on the planet and makes controlling
rats a difficult task.
The Black or Ship Rat
It is unlikely that you will come across this rat. The Black Rat is
a smaller animal, average weight being about 0.5 lb, while the brown
rat being 0.75 lb. The Black Rats tail is longer than the brown. It came
from Southern Asia, where it nested in trees. In Britain it lives in
buildings as it can not stand the cold climate. At one time the Black
Rat was the only rat in Britain. It was the Black Rat that spread the
plague. The Brown Rat was bigger and anhydrous and drove the black rat
out. It is usually around parts where the black rat is found where it
has come freshly off the ships. The Black Rat is a more nimble animal,
better at climbing than the Brown Rat.
The Norway or Brown rat is the largest of the two European rats. It is
distinguished from the ship rat in that the tail, which is about 180mm
in length, is thick and shorter than the body, which is about 200mm in
length, and that the ear of this rat does not reach the eye when pressed
forward. By contrast the ship rat, which is more common, has a tail larger
than its body, and ears that cover the eyes when pressed forward. Both
of the European species are associated with human activity and are found
in houses, tips, waterways and cropland.
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