Rat Facts.
Click HERE to see a short video of a Rat showing interest in a new bait station in its territory. Due to Rats being neophobic they wont enter the bait station until it has been left alone for a few days without moving.
Rat facts to know before you start to treat or ignore a rat problem.
Rats have 7–8 young per litter, and between 3–6 litters a year.
The gestation period is about 3 weeks.
It only takes 10–12 weeks from birth to reach sexual maturity.
Preferred food is cereals, which is why you will find them near to chicken runs and bird feeders.
They will eat around 30g of food a day and drink 60ml.
Most species of rats live in nests comprised of an alpha male, several females and the young rats. The dominant male will prevent other males from mating with his group of females, and watches out for the family.
Many rat families have multiple nest sites, and move between them depending on the availability of food and a good water source. Access to water is crucial for rats.
Rats normally travel up to 300 feet from the nest in search of food and water and to patrol their territory.
However, if food and water dry up, they will venture much farther to get what they need.
As a pest controller we would always work to the principle that she mates multiple times today to ensure she is pregnant, 28 days later she gives birth to between 6 – 10 young, the next day she mates again and 28 days later she gives birth and the last lot of off spring are off the teat and the new ones take over whilst the others have to fend for themselves, when they are approx. 3 months old they are sexually mature.
The average rat in the wild will live for around one year, with female rats often outliving the males.
Rats occupy a wide range of habitats, often associated with human sites, especially farms, industrial sites, rubbish tips, allotments, smallholdings sewage farms, and sewers. This reflects their preference for sites that provide an abundance of food, especially cereals and waste human food.
What time of year are rats most active UK? The rat and mouse population is at it's highest by late Summer/early Autumn. As autumn progresses the food sources start to dry up and the vegetation dies back. Rats and mice will feel the cold and will now start to seek cover, alternative food and warmth. This is when they move into buildings.
How many rats can 2 rats produce in 3 years? Rats can produce half a BILLION descendants in three years ... It's no secret that rats can reproduce prolifically, but the numbers they can reach are staggering. A female rat typically births six litters a year, consisting of around 12 pups. If left unchecked, a pair of rats can produce 482,508,800 pups in just three years, a new interactive graphic reveals.
At what age do rats reach full size? Female rats stop growing at around six to seven months old, while males can grow for another two months after that. Note that they reach sexual maturity at around two months, well before they're considered fully grown.
An article I have written based upon the latest facts available.
The UK rat problem seems to have gotten bigger, so it may be time to take it more seriously if you haven’t yet thought about how you would tackle an infestation. In a lot of areas where there is a high bait take, provisions should be made to increase the quantity of bait as required, which is all very well suggesting it, but the paying customer does not always wish to pay more for something they can never see an end to. At the very best it will only ever be a control never a complete eradication.
The rat population in the UK is estimated to be between 150 million and 250 million. The rat population has increased over the last few years due to a number of factors, including:During lock down, the quiet city centres, combined with vacant restaurants and office buildings, and abundance of food waste during the lock down led to a surge in the rat population. And of course we cannot rule out fly tipping which has greatly helped with the increase in rat numbers.
Also we must never forget that our general household rubbish greatly contributes to the increase in numbers, our rubbish is providing them with just the right environment to nest and breed, while offering them a banquet to feed.
We need to take conscious action to help reduce the problem, this can be started by controlling the quantity of rubbish and foodstuff that is thrown away. This includes rubbish from takeaways that is not thrown in the bins but onto the floor wherever the consumer maybe at the time. We also need to get a grip on fly tipping which is in part because people won’t pay for skips or take their rubbish to the tip/waste management system, but will pay the man with a van to do it for them and instead of taking it to a tip they dump it.
When people are not moving around outside, the rats feel a lot safer and will thrive. While people are tucked away in their beds at night the rat population enjoys an environment with rubbish piling up and no traffic or humans to disturb them.
Because the rat population greatly increased during Covid, it has not declined since human activity returned to “normal” we are continuing to create an ideal breeding ground for rats, with plentiful food for them to scavenge.
We must not forget about local authorities collecting household waste less frequently than they used to, peoples bins are overflowing which in turn helps to feed rats and create an ideal environment for them.
Rats are clever, adaptable, and resilient, and they are nearly always living near humans. A female rat can give birth to six litters per year, with each litter containing up to 12 rat pups. Rats can reach sexual maturity after nine weeks, which means that a population can grow exponentially.
The most effective strategy involves a deep cleaning: Getting rid of any food residue, placing rat traps or chemical solutions in problematic areas. The most important thing is that the bins are sealed and closed every time they are used and especially overnight.
Rats can cause a lot more destruction to properties etc, and so if you are not doing your bit to control the problem then make sure you are prepared for the problems they will cause.
In 2023, many places across the UK saw a noticeable increase in rat infestations. Some areas saw an infestation increase of 90%. The British Pest Control Association also reported in January this year (2024) a 115% increase of people asking about rat control from October last year. While this number is pretty shocking, it follows the general trend of an increase in pest issues during the winter months.
During cold weather, it’s normal for pests like rats, mice, and foxes to look for shelter. It just so happened that winter conditions in 2023 helped drive even more rats than usual into residential areas. Increased flooding, cold weather, litter, and overflowing bins all helped to lure rats out of the cold and into people’s property.
Rats are becoming smarter, and bigger, and immune to some poisons, this problem is in part to customers not wanting to pay a lot of money for rat and mouse treatments and expect rodent bait to have some magic ingredient, this is not the case but if there is not enough bait used due to the high costs the rodents will not die as fast as we would hope due to them not returning to empty bait stations. Also a lot of DIY pest controllers do not use enough bait continuously to have any real effect.