Rodents

Greater Bandicoot Rat

Size: Robust, large in size weighs around 350 to 1000gms.

Colour: Can vary from gray to brown to black.

Behaviour: Bandicoot rats are very aggressive in nature and known to erect their guard hairs on their backs and emit grunts when disturbed.
Bandicoots prefer living outdoor & have a strong burrowing habit. Large and complex burrows with many rooms are used for nesting and food storage. Their burrowing habits cause great damage to grounds and flooring, as they can also tunnel through brick and masonry.

Usually, they occupy the outskirts of human dwellings such as compounds and gardens and are commonly found near garbage bins. Their burrowing habits cause great damage to grounds and flooring. Their characteristic large burrows give away their presence. They are omnivorous in diet and not fastidious eaters, feeding on household refuse, grain, and vegetables, and are very serious pests in poultry farms.

The best ways to avoid bandicoots are to provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents and maintain hygiene. Follow these recommendations to help prevent bandicoots from seeking the food and shelter provided in the vicinity:

  • If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation of the premises, they serve as harborages to attract rodents.
  • Maintain good sanitation to deny food & water availability.

Rodents pose an issue for humans living within the same vicinity for a number of reasons. Rats, mice & bandicoots are all capable of transmitting diseases to humans through their hair, droppings and urine. Their burrowing habits cause great damage to grounds and flooring and pose a significant threat to warehouses and storage godowns. They are omnivorous in diet and not fastidious eaters, feeding on household refuse, grain, and vegetables, and are very serious pests in poultry farms.


Lesser Bandicoot Rat

Size: The head-body length is around 250 mm, and the uniformly dark tail is shorter than the head-body length. Weighs around 300 to 850 gms.

Colour: The dorsal surface of the rat is covered with thick coarse fur of greyish-brown colour. The ventral side of the body is covered with greyish-white fur.

Behaviour: They subsist on grains, fruit, and invertebrates and are destructive to cultivated crops. The lesser bandicoot rat, an especially aggressive burrower. They are omnivorous in diet, feeding on household refuse, grain, and vegetables etc.

This species commonly inhabits the fields of crop, vegetables and fruits. They inhabit inside a well-formed burrow in the field. The rats vigorously survey the field, position of crop and humidity of the soil, before making the burrow. In urban areas, they occupy the outskirts of human dwellings such as compounds and gardens and are commonly found near garbage bins. Their burrowing habits cause great damage to grounds in railway tracks.

The best ways to avoid bandicoots are to provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents and maintain hygiene. Follow these recommendations to help prevent bandicoots from seeking the food and shelter provided in the vicinity:

  • If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation of the home, they serve as harborages to attract rodents.
  • Maintain good sanitation to deny food & water availability.

Rodents pose an issue for humans living within the same vicinity for several reasons. Rats, mice & bandicoots are all capable of transmitting diseases to humans through their hair, droppings and urine. This species is a serious pest of fields crops, vegetables and fruits. In urban areas, they occupy the outskirts of human dwellings such as compounds and gardens and are commonly found near garbage bins.


Roof Rats

Roof Rats

Size: The average adult rat weighs about 226-340gms and measures about 16 inches in total length from nose to the tip of the tail. This is about the same total length of Norway rat. However, the roof rat’s tail is longer than the body and is one of the key identification characteristics.

Colour: Can vary from grey to black.

Behaviour: Roof rats prefer to nest in the upper part of the structures. Roof rats are excellent climbers and can gain entry through openings of greater than 12 mm. Although they will eat practically anything, roof rats prefer seeds, nuts, fruits and berries. If available, they feed upon slugs, snails and insects, including American cockroaches.

The roof rat as per its name , prefers aerial harborages, living in trees canopies, shrubs, dense climbing vines, and the like. They are excellent climbers. Prefers to live in high places but are highly adaptive to variety of environments and can nest on ground if necessary.

The best ways to avoid invasions of commensal rats are to provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents and seal as many holes and cracks in the outside of the home through which rats might enter. Follow these recommendations to help prevent pack rats from seeking the food and shelter provided by your home:

  • If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation of the home, they serve as harborages to attract rodents. Once there, it is an easy step for rodents to enter the building itself.
  • Seal any hole or crack larger than one-half of an inch. Large holes or cracks should be stuffed with steel wool or wire mesh before sealing with caulk or foam, otherwise rodents could chew through to enter.
  • Install a good, thick weather stripping on the bottom of all doors to prevent rodents from entering. The garage door may prove difficult to seal completely, so the door from the garage to the house must be tightly sealed.
  • Keep trees and shrubs trimmed away from the building and cut back limbs overhanging the roof.

Rodents pose an issue for humans living within the same vicinity for a number of reasons. Rats, mice & bandicoots are all capable of transmitting disease to humans through their hair, droppings and urine. Roof rats secured their place in history by spreading the highly dangerous bubonic plague. Roof rats are known to cause structural damages and pose a fire risk due to gnawing of electrical wires.


Norway Rat

Norway Rat

Size: An average adult measures about 16 inches in total from its nose to the end of its tail & weighs around 200-500gms. Norway Rats have a scaly bicoloured tail shorter than the head and body combined.

Colour: Brown with scattered black hairs; grey to white underside.

Behaviour: Norway rats are excellent swimmers & often referred to as sewer rat or water rat or brown rat and are capable of burrowing. It’s an omnivorous and feeds on a variety of food sources.

Outside, Norway rats live in fields, wooded areas, vacant lots, farms, railroad embankments and just about anywhere people have buildings. Indoors, Norway rats often nest in basements, piles of debris or undisturbed materials, under concrete slabs etc.

The best way to avoid invasions of rats is to provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents and seal as many holes and cracks outside the home as possible through which rats might enter. The following recommendations should be followed to help prevent rats from seeking the food and shelter provided by your home:

  • If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation of the home, they serve as harborages to attract rodents. Once there, it is an easy step for rodents to enter the building itself.
  • Seal any hole or crack larger than one-half of an inch. Large holes or cracks should be stuffed with steel wool or wire mesh before sealing with caulk or foam, otherwise rodents could chew through to enter.
  • Install a good, thick weather-stripping on the bottom of all doors to prevent rodents from entering. The garage door may prove difficult to seal completely, so the door from the garage to the house must be tightly sealed.
  • Eliminate sources of moisture, especially in crawl spaces & basements.

Rodents pose an issue for humans living within the same vicinity for several reasons. Rats, mice & bandicoots are all capable of transmitting diseases to humans through their hair, droppings and urine. Norway rats can undermine building foundations and slabs with their burrowing activities and can gnaw on all types of materials, including soft metals such as copper and lead, as well as plastic and wood.


House Mouse

House Mouse

Size: An average adult mice range in total size from 5 to 8 inches. The ears are moderately large & distinct. The average adult weighs 14 to 28gms.

Colour: Light brown or grey to black in colour

Behaviour: House mouse are extremely common within cities and towns, but they also live as field rodents away from buildings. The mice are nibblers when the feed ie. they make many erratic trips feeding in small amounts from different location within their territories.

Mice are found in almost every part of the country, from urban to rural areas, and are especially prevalent in urban and suburban communities. Mice are found in buildings more often than rats because they are smaller and can find more available entryways into a building. Mice can fit through a crack or hole one-fourth of an inch or larger – or about the width of a pencil. Mice prefer dark, secluded places for nesting where abundant nesting material is available nearby and little chance of disturbance.

The best way to avoid mice invasions is to provide as little harbourage as possible that might attract rodents and seal as many holes and cracks outside the premises through which mice might enter. Follow these recommendations to help prevent rodents from seeking shelter inside your property:

  • If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation, they serve as harbourages to attract rodents. Once there, it is an easy step for rodents to enter the building.
  • Do not allow piles of leaves to accumulate next to the foundation. This also serves as an attractive harbourage for rodents – mice in particular.
  • Seal any hole or crack larger than one-fourth of an inch. A good rule of thumb is that if a pencil can fit into it, a mouse could too. Large holes or cracks should be stuffed with steel wool or wire mesh before sealing with caulk or foam, otherwise rodents could chew through and enter.
  • Install good, thick weather-stripping on the bottom of all doors to prevent rodents from entering.

Rodents pose an issue for humans living within the same vicinity for a number of reasons.Rats, mice & bandicoots are all capable of transmitting disease to humans through their hair, droppings and urine. A single mouse can excrete 40 to 100 droppings per day, according to the Mallis Handbook of Pest Control by Arnold Mallis.