Norway Rats in Seattle, WA
Norway rats are the largest rats that we encounter in the Pacific Northwest (they can weigh over one pound, more than twice as large as roof rats). They have shorter tails, which often appear to be two-toned from the rat's partially haired skin. The Norway rat's color can range from grayish brown to reddish brown, and is usually darker in color than other rats.
Norway rats can reproduce all year long, but the highest rates of reproduction generally occur in the fall. The Norway rat, like the roof rat, is perfectly adapted to city life in Bellevue; they will eat just about anything that humans will eat. They are gifted scavengers and will usually make their nests in or near the ground. They are frequently found in crawl spaces under homes. Because Norway rats are primarily active at night, many are not aware of their presence inside their homes until their numbers swell and that presence becomes more obvious.
Norway Rat Habits
Rodents are problematic inside of any structure. While rodent issues will generally be more pervasive in areas where construction may be older and sanitation may not be ideal, rodents can infest any building. Recognition of a rodent problem is not necessarily a reflection on one’s tidiness or cleanliness; it is unfortunately a byproduct of living in the Pacific Northwest and requires expertise and care to manage.
Rodents are well-suited to the Puget Sound region. They have a high reproductive rate and compete well for resources with other scavengers (they have been known to attack other animals such as fish, birds, and other mammals).
Rodents can burrow long distances to obtain food and shelter from predators. Most rodents can survive a fall of up to fifty feet, making them fearless climbers and able to travel across power lines and tree branches.
Rodent Control
Rodents are not a simple pest to eradicate from a structure; they are intelligent creatures with an imperative to survive at any cost. Comprehensive rodent control should consist of four steps:
- Inspection. Thorough inspection is absolutely imperative to effective rodent control. The most important consideration in a rodent inspection is to identify all access points that rodents are using to gain access to the structure(s). Without a thorough understanding of how the rodents are entering and/or exiting the structure, effective control is nearly impossible.
- Exclusion. Once the access points have been identified, structural improvements must be made to correct the gaps or holes. These repairs can range from the simple to the complex, and should be checked regularly as they will often break down with time and/or increased rodent pressure. Exclusion should be performed by a trained professional with the most appropriate material(s) for the situation. Our service technicians bring their expertise and their knowledge of rodent behaviors, which is the ideal combination for effective rodent exclusion.
