The common species of rat found in
towns and cities is the Brown Rat,
rattus norvegicus. Less common is
the Ship Rat, rattus rattus, usually
found around ports.
The Brown rat was first recorded in
Europe at the beginning of the 18th
century and were referred to as the
Norway rat because they were thought
to have travelled from the east on
Norwegian timber ships.
Rats
can transmit dangerous diseases to
humans including Weils disease,
murine typhus and salmonella
bacteria.
They
reach sexual maturity in 2-3 months,
can have 3-6 litters per year and
can have between 8-10 young per
litter. Their average life span is
12 months.
The
Brown rat must drink water daily and
will eat anything. They eat on
average one tenth of their body
weight each day.
Rats
suffer from a condition called
neophobia which is a fear of new
objects. So a rat that enters a
building and establishes a 'run'
will become wary of freshly laid
rodent baits, ignoring them for a
few days, and continuing to cause
damage to stock. However a rat
gaining entry to a premises that has
preventative pest control measures
will consider the existing bait as
'normal' and will be eradicated
swiftly. |
