Rats are instinctively wary of traps and bait, and colonize in attics, burrows, under concrete and porches, in wall voids and other hard to reach places. Which makes controlling difficult?

Rats can harbor and transmit a number of serious diseases. They can also introduce disease-carrying parasites such as fleas, lice and ticks into your home.

• Carrier of many serious diseases

• Brown, heavy-bodied is 6 to 8 inches long

• With small eyes and ears and blunt nose

• Tail is shorter than head

• Fur is shaggy

• Nests in underground burrows

• Enter buildings in search of food

• Tends to remain in hiding during the day

• Droppings are capsule-shaped

• Omnivorous, but prefers meats

• Cannot survive long without water

• Reaches sexual maturity in two months and can breed any month of the year

• Litter may number from eight to twelve

• Females can have four to seven litters per year

• Adults live as long as one year

• Norway Rat is the common rat in the United States