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Controlling Rats and Mice in Texas

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Controlling Rats and Mice in Texas Rodents Introduction: In order to effectively prevent or control rodent infestations, one must first learn to identify the different species common to a particular area of interest and become familiar with their behavior and habits. A thorough inspection of the area can then be conducted to look for and document signs of an infestation, to identify any specific problem species, and to estimate their populations. A control program employing appropriate rodent control tools, and techniques tailored to the infestation site, and to the specific rodent populations found, can then be implemented. Evaluating the results achieved, and making any improvements deemed necessary to the control program is a recommended final step in the process. Keep in mind, however, that results cannot always be measured by counting dead rats and mice. When baits are no longer being eaten, when there are no fresh droppings, and when no live rats or mice are seen, results are as good as can be expected. Rats and mice are objectionable to humans in many ways: • They consume and contaminate (through their droppings) an estimated 20% of the world’s food supply. • They damage and destroy property, such as wood doors, floors, walls, clothing, furniture, and food containers. They chew on electrical wires (causing fires), undermine buildings, gnaw pipes, chew water hoses, and cut through mortar and cement. Burrowing rats may undermine building foundations and slabs. • They carry and/or spread diseases that are serious health hazards to both humans and domestic animals, including Salmonellosis (food poisoning), Swine Dysentery, Leptospirosis, Rickettsialpox, Trichinosis, Infectious Jaundice, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM), and Rat Bite Fever. They also carry fleas, ticks and other ectoparasites, which potentially spread other diseases, such as typhus, bubonic plague and rat mite dermatitis. In May 1993, a previously unknown disease, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), associated with exposure to wild rodents, was identified among residents of the southwestern United States, and was subsequently recognized throughout the Americas. Through May 9, 2006, 438 cases have been reported in the United States, with a case fatality rate of 36%. • Their presence causes a great deal of anxiety for the occupants (people and pets) of infested homes and businesses. An infested food facility, for instance, would be at risk for poor inspection scores, fines, disgruntled employees, unhappy customers, and lost business. © 2014 All Star Training, Inc. 1 All rat and mice species currently found in the United States may be classified as commensal (living with humans and dependent on them), or feral (in the wild state and human independent). For the most part, commensal rodents are nonnative species introduced from other parts of the world, and feral rodents are native to the Western Hemisphere (New World rodents), but there are some exceptions both ways. By far, commensal rodents present the greatest problem to man, and as such, will be emphasized in this instructional exposition. Commensal Rodents: Commensal is defined as “sharing one’s table”. Commensal rodents, which include Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), roof rats (Rattus rattus), and Common House Mice (Mus musculus) have long been the unwelcome associates of humans. They followed human occupation and development of new countries and are now present in most parts of the world. In contrast to native rats and mice, they are aliens in North America, but are now very well established. They live with or very close to humans in homes, farms, ranches, buildings, grain storage facilities, sheds, garages, and structures of all kinds. Norway Rat: Rattus norvegicus (a commensal, nonnative species thought to originate from northern China) – also known as Barn Rat, Brown Rat, Gray Rat, Common Rat, House Rat, Norwegian Rat, Sewer Rat, Warf Rat, and Water Rat. This is the famous “Sewer Rat” in New York City. The Norway Rat is one of the best-known and most common rats. It is also one of the largest and most aggressive. It didn’t originate from Norway, but most likely owes its name to an 18th century English author, John Berkenhour, who mistakenly believed that the rat migrated to England from Norwegian ships in 1728. Physical Description: Norway Rat. • Adult Weight – 10 to17 ounces. • Adult Length – 13 to 18½ inches including tail (7 to 10 inches for head and body only). • Color – Usually grayish-brown but could vary between reddish-brown and completely black. White underside. • Body – Large, robust, and stocky with coarse shaggy fur. • Tail – 6 to 8½ inches long for adults (shorter than head and body), dark above, pale below, furless, and scaly. • Hind Foot Length/Track – Adults average slightly more than 1¾ inch. • Ears – Small, close to body – won’t cover eyes if bent forward. Rat has acute hearing, sensitive to ultrasound. • Eyes – Small. Rat is colorblind with poor eyesight – primarily sees light, shadow, and movement. • Nose – Blunt, acute sense of smell. © 2014 All Star Training, Inc. 2 • Whiskers/body guard hairs – Sense walls, surfaces, and air movements for guideance during nocturnal travels. • Teeth – 1/8 inch gnaw pattern. Gnaws holes 2 inches or more in diameter with rough edges. Can gnaw through wood, lead, aluminum, copper, cinder block, or uncured concrete. Distribution: Widespread in the United States and most of the urban and agricultural areas of Canada due to its excellent adaptability. Best suited for temperate zones. Lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas. Habits: Commensual, nocturnal, burrows extensively, excellent swimmer, good climber, smart, and shy. Feeding and most activity occurs ½ hour after sunset until ½ hour before sunrise. Norway Rats build their nests in low or subsurface places and line them with soft material (such as shredded paper, cloth, grass, or other fibrous material), chewed into small pieces. They can burrow under sidewalks and foundation walls, or they can live in sewers, basements, cellars, and the lower portions of buildings. They explore their territory of 100 to 300 feet daily and are suspicious of any changes to this environment, including new foods. For this reason, it may take a couple of days for traps or poison baits to be effective. Norway Rats can also exist in the feral state where vegetation is tall and rank and affords adequate protection. The marshy lands on Galveston Island off the coast of Texas offer an ideal habitat for them. Norway Rats live in colonies and have a very strong social hierarchy – the biggest and strongest get the best food and harborages (places to hide and nest). Food and Consumption: Omnivores – prefers cereal grains but eats almost any human food including meats, fish, nuts, flour, fruits, vegetables, and eggs. Norway Rats visit fewer food sites than mice do, but eat more at each site. Requires ¾ to 1 ounce of food and ½ to 1 ounce of water each day. Biology and Reproduction: Norway Rats are prolific breeders. After giving birth, females can be in heat and become pregnant again in as little as 24 to 48 hours (and still lactate to feed their current litter of pups). Their relatively short life spans, short gestational periods, and rapid sexual maturity make effective rodent control critical. The reproductive cycle and number of rodent offspring increases with adequate food, water, and harborage. They will reproduce year-round in stable environments. • Gestation Period – 21 to 23 days. • Litter Size – 8 to12 pups. • Litter Number – 4 to 7 per year (heavier in spring and fall). • Growth – Eyes open in 14 to 17 days – weaned in 3 to 4 weeks – reach reproductive maturity in 8 to 12 weeks. • Droppings – ¾ inch or less in length with blunt/rounded ends (capsule shaped) – 30 to 180 pellets per day – soft and dark in color when fresh. © 2014 All Star Training, Inc. 3 • Life Span – 1 to 3 years, but predators and intraspecific conflict limit most to about 1 year. More Norway Rat Facts: • They can gnaw their way through openings as small as ½ inch. • They can survive a fall from up to 25 feet onto a hard surface. • They can swim up to 1 mile. • They often kill and partially eat House Mice. This rat behavior is known as muricide. • They are hosts for the Seoul virus, which causes a mild form of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). Evidence of Seoul virus infection has been found in Norway Rats throughout the world, including the United States, but human disease associated it has been restricted to Asia. Norway Rats are not known to be carriers of hantavirus. Roof Rat: Rattus rattus (a commensal, nonnative species originating from tropical Asia) – also known as Alexandrian Rat, Asian Black Rat, Black Rat, Fruit Rat, Ship Rat, and Tree Rat. The Roof Rat is smaller, slimmer, and more agile than the Norway Rat. It is a better climber but a poorer swimmer. Indications are that the larger and more aggressive Norway Rat is supplanting the Roof Rat in many of the cooler regions of the United States. In the South, however, the Roof Rat is by far the more common of the two. Physical Description: • Adult Weight – 6 to 12 ounces. • Adult Length – 14 to 18 inches including tail (6½ to 8 inches for head and body only). • Color – Varies from black to brownish-gray with a pale yellow or grayish-white underside. • Body – Sleek, acrobatic, and graceful with smooth fur. • Tail – 7½ to10 inches long for adults (longer than the head and body) – uniform color, furless and scaly. • Hind Foot Length/Track – Adults average slightly less than 1½ inch. • Ears – Large. Cover the eyes if bent forward. • Eyes – Large and prominent. Rat is colorblind with poor eyesight – mainly sees light, shadow, and movement. • Nose – Pointed, acute sense of smell. • Whiskers/body guard hairs – Sense walls, surfaces, and air movements for guideance during nocturnal travels.
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