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A distinguishing feature is the tail, which is longer than the combined length of the head and body. The extension guide includes a chart comparing the physical features of the roof rat to those of other common rats, including the wood rat (pack rat), the cotton rat, and the Norway rat. |
Wednesday, 03 April 2002
Susan McGinley
Roof rats go for it all: your food, your plants, even your wiring and insulation. A newly released bulletin from Arizona Cooperative Extension describes prevention and control measures for roof rat infestations.
"Roof Rat Control Around Homes and Other Structures" is available in downloadable format on the Web. Extension wildlife damage control specialist Larry Sullivan wrote the guide to assist homeowners in accurately identifying and controlling these pests.
The roof rat, or black rat (Rattus rattus) is an Old World rodent species not native to North America that was identified in a Phoenix neighborhood in 2001. Roof rats were likely introduced into the area through some sort of freight, possibly a shipment of fruit or other food, or livestock feed or equipment.
Roof rats pose both health and safety hazards. They can transmit diseases to humans and to domestic animals, consume and contaminate stored food and feed, gnaw on wiring, tear up insulation, and feed on the fruit and vegetative portions of many landscape and garden plants.
Proper identification is of critical importance in implementing control measures for roof rats. Although they look like other rats, a distinguishing feature is the tail, which is longer than the combined length of the head and body. The extension guide includes a chart comparing the physical features of the roof rat to those of other common rats, including the wood rat (pack rat), the cotton rat, and the Norway rat.
Unlike other rat species, roof rats prefer to live and forage for food above ground in elevated areas indoors and outdoors. They are agile climbers and travel through trees and along vines, wires, rafters and rooftops, making them harder to control. To assist homeowners, the extension publication includes sections on roof rat physical appearance, ecology and behavior, food habits, signs of infestation, prevention, control, and carcass disposal. Habitat modification, exclusion, trapping and baiting are discussed with an emphasis on both safety for children and pets, and effectiveness in reducing infestations.
Although roof rats have currently been identified in just one area of Phoenix, the rats can migrate. This bulletin is offered to the general public statewide to provide information and tools for dealing with roof rats should they infest other areas as well. The bulletin is available online at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1280.pdf
- Updated: April 03, 2002
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