Roof Rats are found throughout Florida and they need to be dealt with fast! The Roof Rat and the Norway Rat are the two main types of rats found in North America, but the Roof Rat is not a native! Roof Rats came over here from southern Asia and over time, the Roof Rats have managed to grow their population immensely! These pests carry murine typhus and are also know for having carried the bubonic plague! With Roof Rats being absolutely disgusting and horrific creatures, no one is happy when they hear they have a Roof Rat infestation!
You may have heard Roof Rats being referred to as Black Rats, but they are they same rat. If you have vegetation outside of your home, there might be some of these nasty critters lurking within them. You’ll usually find Roof Rats living in vegetation, shrubs, and trees out in the wilderness but when you see them in homes, Roof Rats are seen way above the ground as well. They will usually be within sheetrock, cabinets, attics, ceilings, and even walls!
Roof Rats are not typically found out in the open so it is likely that you have never seen them before if they are there. They’re usually around 12 to 14 inches long and weigh in around 5 to 10 ounces. The Roof Rats have smooth bodies and are actually quite agile. Their ears and eyes are big for their heads, causing an appearance that is rather scary! If you see a Roof Rat, it will have a gray underside and a black back, a gray back with a slightly lighter gray underside, or a browner gray back with a white belly. These are the color patterns you will see with the Roof Rats in Florida, but the fact is you will more than likely solely see Roof Rats dead in rattraps.
If you have Roof Rats in your home or business, the only time you will see one is if you have a Roof Rat infestation that has blown up (or dead in a trap). Rat infestations are way worse than they look so if you see a Roof Rat in your home or business, it is likely that the rat infestation is very bad. With one Roof Rat sighting you may have hundreds or even thousands throughout your home or business so make sure to contact us if you see one! These pests can breed constantly over the course of a year and with between 5 and 8 Roof Rat pups being born in a litter and Roof Rats being capable of having as many as 5 litters of pups in a year, make sure to get the professionals to handle the Roof Rat problem before it really gets out of hand!