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KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Understand the importance of controlling rodents.

Rats Communicate

They live in groups with a pecking order and work

together to defend and maintain their territories.

The main concern of the rat is to ensure that the

nest is protected and well hidden. They reach sexual

maturity quickly and are prolific breeders.

They live in close association with one and other.

Dominant males stake out their own little kingdoms

or territories. The boundaries are normally

marked out by urine. The territories are defended

against intruders. One or more females are permitted.

Rats Breed Rapidly

A female rat has the potential to conceive every 7-10 days and takes between 28-35 days to give birth. Most litters contain 3-6 pups.

Under ideal conditions a pair of rats breeding could theoretically produce 3000 offspring per year. Even if 90% control is achieved and the survivors are not treated again the population will return to its pre control level within 12 months.

	Norway Rat	Roof Rat	House Mouse
Time until sexual Maturity	2-3 Months	2-3 Months	1-1½ Months
Adult Life Span	12 Months	12 Months	12 Months
Time until young are born	Averages 23 days	Averages 22 days	Averages 19 days
Number of young	Av. 8-12 per litter	Av. 4-5 per litter	Av. 5-6 per litter
Number of litters	Av. 4-7 per year	Av. 4-5 per year	Av. 6-12 per year

Rats Carry Disease

Throughout history rats have spread Typhus,

Plague, Jaundice and a host of parasites throughout

human and animal populations.

Rats Eat a Lot

A rat weighing 300 grams will consume 30 grams

a day of food, ten percent of its body weight.

A PAIR OF RATS WILL EAT AS MUCH FEED AS 1 HEN

A pair of rats will eat or destroy as much feed as 1 hen during her entire laying cycle. Mice are more accommodating you need 10 pairs to eat the same amount of food. These are conservative estimates.

Rats and Mice have an excellent sense of taste and smell

They use smell to locate food and members

of the opposite sex. Their taste perception

is so good they can taste compounds at concentration

of less than 1 part per million. This is why choice

of baits is so critical. They can easily detect

very small amounts of foreign substances which may

put them off feeding.

Rats and Mice have razor sharp teeth

All rodents have continuously growing incisor (front)

teeth and they constantly gnaw any suitable

hard objects. The dentine of these incisors

has a hardness rating only just lower than steel

and ruptures in gas and water pipes are common

in infested areas. Electrical cables are particularly

attractive to rodents which may cause many

unexplained fires in farms warehouse etc.

The front teeth are razor sharp and can cut through

lead fibre and plastic pipes. They also gnaw holes

in building walls, partitions. Their burrows can cause

structural damage by undermining foundations.

Which Rodents cause the most problems in Australia

The rodent species which causes most problems in Australia are the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), Roof Rat (Rattus Rattus) and the House mouse (Mus musculus).

The Norway rat is the most troublesome species of rodent. It is a large rat reaching a weight of 500 gm. It prefers to live in burrows in the ground

but is very adaptable and is quite happy living in buildings.

The roof rat is an expert climber and usually occupies the higher parts of buildings. They are smaller and more agile than the Norway rat.

The house mouse reaches a maximum weight of 25 gms.

WHY RATS ARE A COSTLY ENEMY

They breed rapidly and eat large quantities

of food. Thirty grams doesn't sound much but when

you work out the cost potential of two rats over

twelve months it adds up to a considerable

amount. One pair of breeding rats has the potential

to produce a colony of five thousand rats in one

year. Converted to grain equivalents

this is equal to 75 tonnes of grain. Of course

this calculation does not include grain damaged

by rat urine or the damage they can do to wiring

in machinery or houses.

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