THE ENEMY - THE NORWAY RAT! 

 

 
Man’s worst enemy among animals, the Norway Rat (Rattus Norvegicus) is a large robust rodent that has largely thwarted the extermination efforts of City Government for thirty years.  Poorly maintained garbage and rubbish storage containers, shed facilities and other contributing factors found on properties along with owner and tenant irresponsibility, has provided the Norway Rat with abundant food sources and harborages throughout the City.

 

Appearance – An adult Norway rat can weigh between 12-16 oz with a body length of 6-12 inches long.  The rodent has a blunt nose with small ears and eyes with shaggy and coarse fur in various colors.  The tail is shorter than the head and body combined, and is scaly.  Rat droppings average ¼ to ¾ inch in length and are usually shiny black, but may vary according to the rat’s diet.  Rats with high protein diets have greater reproductive rates.

 

Habits and Biology – Rats are fast breeders, the young reaches sexual maturity in 2-3 months, female average 4-7 litters a year, with 8-12 pups per litter.  With a good food supply and plenty of hiding places, one pair of rats can turn into hundreds within a year. 

 

The Norway rat generally prefers to live in underground tunnels but have been known to live entirely inside buildings.  As the rat family grows more burrows and tunnels are built, resulting in a network of underground tunnels.  The Norway Rats usually begin their search for food and water after sunset.  They feed twice a night, once shortly after dark and again in early morning and live on garbage, decaying meat, spoiled vegetables and fruit.  Rats prefer fresh food, but can survive on rotting edibles, pet food or even dog feces.  They need water to survive.  Since you usually cannot see them, look for tracks or rub marks, droppings, gnawed items and burrows. 

 

Reasons for controlling Rodents -The Norway Rats can destroy and contaminate food and transmit diseases to humans by their urine, droppings, or by lice on their bodies, all of which carry germs.  They also damage buildings and materials by gnawing through plasterboard, wood, vinyl siding, fiberboard, cinder block, aluminum siding and lead sheathing.  They can cause fires by chewing through the insulation on electrical wires. 

 

Rats learn fast and quickly get used to a new place to live, a new routine, a new place to get food and a new kind of food.  That is why getting rid of them is so difficult.  Rats make their homes close to where their food is.  Take away their food and they move out or starve! 

 

Hartford residents must recognize that rats can only exist if they have water, food and shelter.