What Does a Norway Rat Look Like?
Their appearance alone can be enough to give you the heebie-jeebies. Their bodies, which are covered in brown or grey fur, can measure up to 16 inches long and weigh as much as a pound. Need more motivation to call for professional pest control services? These rats’ bodies often leave behind grease marks as they slither along the pavement or, worse yet, your home’s flooring.
How a Norway Rat Can Damage Your Home
These gray or brown rats aren’t just gross. As we mentioned, they also create a variety of hazards in the home. When burrowing under concrete or other surfaces, Norway rats often cause serious damage to foundations and sidewalks or other pavement. Older buildings and poorly maintained structures are more vulnerable to invasion and damage.
Norway Rat Health and Safety Hazards
If these rats make their way into your home, most likely via the basement or crawlspace, call your local pest control pros immediately. A single Norway rat can sicken your family by contaminating your household’s food supply. This type of rat can spread jaundice, trichinosis, rat-bite fever, salmonellosis, or the cowpox virus through its urine, feces, and saliva. These rats also carry ticks, mites, and fleas. And their strong jaws and sharp front teeth make easy work of chewing through electrical wires, drywall, pipes, floors, clothes, furnishings, and sheets. Many house fires are caused by chewed wires, making rodent control critical when an infestation occurs.
How to Keep Norway Rats from Your Home
Keeping Norway rats out of your home is the ultimate goal. They’re attracted to woodpiles, tall grass, and other signs of an unkempt lawn. Regular trimming and mowing help make your yard less alluring to these rats, but there are steps you can take to keep them out of your home if they do enter your lawn. Bar points of entry by sealing gaps and holes around your home’s perimeter. These grey or brown rats can squeeze their bodies through openings as small as 1/2″ in diameter. With this in mind, inspect your walls for cracks and gaps around doors, windows, crawlspaces, and other rodent entryways.
Rat Problem? Burns Pest Is Here for You
If these sneaky pests manage to make their way inside despite your best efforts, contact Burns Pest Elimination. We provide effective pest control around the Tucson, Las Vegas, and Phoenix areas. We’ll also educate you on the best rodent control methods to prevent future infestations. Rats may be hard to catch, but we aren’t. Give us a call today.
