Rats are a species of small rodents that contain more than 3,000 known varieties. They have four short legs and a long tail with an additional hairless organ called “sensory bristles” on the top side of their heads to navigate through dark areas.
Rats can be found throughout the world but tend to live mostly by human society as they have been known to eat discarded food. For this reason, they are often found sharing homes with humans without owners even noticing them.
As rats are typically nocturnal, they will remain hidden during daylight hours unless they feel threatened. However, if given enough time outside at nightfall, you may catch sight of your new pet.
Why Rats Come to Live with Humans?
Even though we don’t like the idea of sharing our homes, food, and families with rodents, this is precisely what’s been happening ever since humans began living in communities. And because rats are constantly on the lookout for a new shelter and food sources, there’s a continuous conflict between them and us. The fact that they’re continually invading human homes is another element of their intelligence and resourcefulness. To survive in the wild, rats need to find safety and comfort within buildings to stock up on food in preparation for hard times. They’re able to squeeze through openings as small as a quarter-inch wide – no surprise considering that one full-grown rat can fit through a space smaller than a golf ball.
But why do they choose our homes?
Rats are intelligent, social creatures who prefer living where their friends can join them. Their network of tunnels can cover miles of territory, but they tend to hang out within 100 feet of their nests. They try to seek shelter underground or in buildings if they can’t find any natural. Rats seek out warm, dry, dark places for shelter and nesting. If they can find a way into your home or apartment above ground, they’ll build nests there. They love the warmth of centrally heated rooms and will burrow bedding material from nearby sources such as garbage bags to help keep them warm through the winter.
How to tell if Rats are already inside your home?
Rats will get inside any home when they can. They are not picky about where they live because their lives depend on it.
If you see droppings near the cables, that’s your best indicator that there are at least three rats nearby who have already found an “entrance.” Droppings indicate both the presence of rodents and the existence of food. The rat droppings are hard pellets made up mostly of undigested/digested food. The color can vary depending on what the animal has been eating.
Rat droppings are usually about 2-3 mm long and 1 mm in diameter, although some species produce longer pellets with pointed ends that may be as narrow as 0.5 cm across or less. You can also identify rat droppings because if you flip them over, you’ll see a dark smudge in the middle of the pellet. The smear is actually digested blood from their last meal.
The Big Question: Can Rats Climb Walls?
A rat can climb walls, but it is not very easy. It usually needs a lot of energy and determination to do so, and sometimes even that is not enough.
Rats are capable of climbing up ropes and chains as well as poles and rods like wires and bars, but they prefer the latter because these items have something solid at the top to hold on to. Rats can also use their front paws with dexterity to grasp from one side of a bar or rod to another to pull themselves upward if they want or need to, making them excellent climbers. In addition, rats have incredibly sharp claws that help them cling onto various surfaces. They cannot run up vertical surfaces, though – for this, proper climbing mechanisms, such as a rope, must be used.
Rats do not usually climb smooth walls because these surfaces cannot hold their claws well, but they have been observed to do so on occasion. Smooth walls also require a lot of energy and thus leave the rat tired and quite vulnerable if it becomes necessary to quickly escape from a predator or other adversary. Consequently, rats prefer to live in buildings where there are nooks and crannies – areas with protruding bricks, steps, ledges – because this makes climbing easier for them. In fact, rats living close to the sea may find the vertical surface of the water an ideal location since it requires less energy than land does. These creatures form colonies called rafts which float on the open ocean from island to island.
There have been certain instances where pet rats have been trained to climb vertical plastic rods. This has only been accomplished with rats born in captivity, however, and the process is quite complicated. Rats must be introduced to such surfaces at a very young age (about two months) by tying ropes around their bodies and lifting them up vertically while encouraging them to hold on. The rat will eventually get used to hanging from its claws and develop the climbing skills it needs over time by exercising these muscles regularly. Once they reach maturity (around three or four months), they can become quite adept climbers of vertical surfaces if properly motivated; this might involve “rat races” against other rats in competitions. The most successful example of this training method can climb vertical rods without ropes.
Most pet rats are not trained to climb ropes or other similar items because it is too complicated, particularly when the owner does not have any previous experience in rat training. Many of them will learn how to do so naturally by playing around with the item, which makes this a good option for owners who want their pets to be active and agile. For instance, some people attach strings to dowel rods so that their pet rats can climb up and down these objects during exercise sessions while watching television or doing something else that requires concentration. The process should be done gradually since sudden movements might frighten the animal and discourage it from continuing with its newfound activity. An excellent way to get started is by letting the rat climb up and down an object several times so that it learns how to do so. Then, the height of this object should be gradually increased until the pet can climb a string or rope which is suspended from one wall across the room to another. This will take some time, though, depending on how quickly the rat learns its ropes.
Once rats have learned how to climb vertical surfaces properly, they may attack humans by jumping onto their backs while scratching them with their claws in self-defense. The risk of being attacked in this manner may not be as great for owners who train pet rats since these creatures are usually quite friendly towards people who provide them with food and water daily. Humans may also be attacked by pet rats if they attempt to touch the animal, however, so it is best for owners to approach them slowly and gently while holding out a small treat as a means of preventing this from happening.
How to Keep Rats Away from your Home?
The most important rule is that the food sources must be eliminated, especially from around skirting boards where they can enter or find their way into wall voids or attics. This often means storage of foodstuffs must change from inside cupboards to outside metal trash cans with secure lids. There should also be no piles of old newspapers (a favorite nesting place for mice) in basements or near stoves. You should put pet food up at night, too; otherwise, you may be sharing it with rats that get bold enough to come out for a snack while you sleep!
As well as cutting off items like furniture legs, which can be gnawed to let rats reach higher. Make sure that the attack to your house is stopped by a foot or so of soil, or even a metal sheet, to prevent rodents from burrowing up into your home.
Just filling holes in walls is not usually enough, especially if they have been gnawed already for several centimeters in each direction. It is good to line internal cavity walls with mesh or galvanized mesh before replacing plasterboard panels. This should be done from inside for between 50 cm and 1 m high, depending on the height of the plastered wall itself. Apply to window sills and lintels for exterior walls and then caulk the top and bottom of the mesh with silicone. Remember that rats can chew through soft material like insulation and wiring, so keep all such materials away from paths they may take.
It is also vital to inspect chimneys and their boots every year, as these are popular rat entry points, especially in older buildings where mortar around joints may have been eroded by time or bad weather. It is a good idea to remove the spark arrester if one is fitted because this can form a shelter for rodents inside the chimney itself. In general, please do not leave any gaps between masonry units in parapets, etc., which might let them work their way into wall voids under eaves.
