Sewer rat (Rattus norvegicus): habits, risks and inspection of the degree of infestation
Technical note on sewer rat (Rattus norvegicus): habits, risks and inspection of the degree of infestation, with a focus on diagnosis, prevention and criteria applicable to professional pest management.
SEWER RAT (Rattus norvegicus)
They have a very high metabolism, therefore, for every kilogram of live weight, they require ten times more food than humans. Preferably nocturnal habits, which is why they have extraordinarily specialized senses of smell, hearing and touch, which are the ones that guide their defensive activity and food location, depending to a lesser degree on sight.
NORWAY, GRAY OR SEWER RAT This rat is directly associated with man and his environment, in its wild form it lives in the countryside, during the fall when food is scarce, rats move from the fields to the storage areas of any product. The gray or sewer rat acquires sexual maturity from 3 to 5 months, the gestation period is 22 days, extending when lactation and pregnancy occur at the same time, on average it has 6 to 12 offspring per birth and, combined with its high fecundity, it is capable of raising 6 to 10 litters per year. Lactation and pregnancy can occur simultaneously since the female can lay in a ball shortly after giving birth (48 hrs). They are frequently hosts or vectors of parasites that transmit serious and important diseases that affect humans and domestic animals. Kingdom:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Animalia Rodentia
Mammalia Rats have an excellent sense of smell that allows them to orient themselves even in the dark.
Muridae
INSPECTIONS TO EVALUATE THE DEGREE OF RODENT INFESTATION Their eyes are very sensitive to light, they are incapable of distinguishing colors.
Before developing the Integrated Rodent Management Program, a complete INSPECTION of the facilities must be carried out to determine the pest species, the degree of infestation and the type of treatment that should be used. It is essential to have information on the type of installation, existing, stored and/or manufactured material.
Excrement (feces)
footprints or footprints
Tooth marks (grow 0.3 to 0.4 mm/day)
Burrows or nests
urine stains
Paths or paths good
Presence of dead or live rodents, odors
Shrieking
Characteristics -Senses: sight: poor, do not distinguish colors. Smell, taste, touch, hearing: excellent. -Food preferences: omnivores, preference for fresh (22-30 g/day). Their diet consists of all kinds of organic waste from the garbage, dried meat and carrion,
- Adult size (weight g): 200–500 g. vegetables, cereals and fruits, even manure.
- Nose: flat. -Fluid requirements: 15-30 ml/day.
- Ears: small, covered with small hair, not enough to climb and swim. eyes.
- Eyes: small. -Nests: usually underground burrows.
- General appearance: long and robust.
The tactile hairs on the head, tail and the rest of the body help them avoid obstacles.
- Tail: dark above, pale below.
- Fur: brown mixed with black, gray to yellow belly, hairy white.
Like all nocturnal animals, rats have very fine hearing.
-Radius of the home environment: 30–50 m. -Age to mate: 2 to 3 months.
- Excrement: capsule-shaped, 2 cm x 1 cm.
-Aging period: spring and autumn peaks. -Gestation period: 22 days. -Number of offspring: 6 to 12. -Number of litters per year: 6 to 10. -Average lifespan: 1 year.
Their paths always run along a wall, rarely crossing an enclosure diagonally.
They have a markedly thigmotactic behavior: they orient themselves by tactile stimuli and always maintain contact with vertical surfaces.
They mark their paths with urine and genital secretions. Rats constantly explore their habitat, they know it well. When they are forced to flee, they do so with perfect knowledge of the way out. They mark all the peculiarities of the place, where they get water and food. They immediately find the bait points, due to their innate repulsion towards unknown objects (neophobia), on the first attempt they reject it. It is important to place the bait points close to the burrow or along its paths.