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HABITS AND
BIOLOGY:
The young
rats reach sexual maturity in 2-3 months, females average 4-7 litters a
year, with 8-12 pups per litter. Adults live about a year. Read above
about how kill rats before they reach 1 year. They live in
colonies. The Norway rat generally prefers to live in underground
tunnels. On farms, they will be near a food source: barns, granaries,
livestock buildings, and silos. In the cities, they will be in the
ground in their is available space, but have been known live entirely
inside buildings. Rats will seek food outside, but many times will come
inside at night to forage for food and how to their burrows. Needing
a water source, they can obtain water from toilets, sinks, rain puddles,
or condensation from utility pipes. Their nesting burrows on the outside
are often along the foundation of walls. As you kill rats, more
burrows are built, resulting in a network of underground tunnels.
Inside, the Norway Rat commonly nest on the lower levels, but if the
population is too large, they may be found in the attic and ceiling
areas. Their nests are built from soft material like paper or grass
chewed into small pieces. Rats will kill if necessary to enter a
building, the Norway Rat is an excellent swimmer. Rats are suspicious of
changes in the environment or new foods, for this reason it may take a
couple of days for traps or poison baits to take. Rats are nocturnal,
with their peak activity at dusk or before dawn. When the population is
large or they are disturbed or hungry, you can see how to kill rats during the
day.
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