You will notice you have rats either by spotting one seeing droppings or if you have citrus fruit trees partially eaten fruit on the ground.
Roof rats in phoenix 2017.
And last updated 6 31 am mar 22 2017 several ahwatukee neighborhoods are striking back against vermin invaders.
Roof rats can access your attic and living space through holes on the exterior of your home of only half an inch in diameter.
Roof rats have a gathering in ahwatukee man s yard.
How to help avoid the neighborhood roof rats.
Also known as a black rat or ship rat this species rattus rattus became a common sight and a nuisance in phoenix area neighborhoods in the early 2000s.
Critter ridder did a great job in helping us solve a tough problem with roof rats.
That is about one football field.
I set a bunch of traps myself but the problem wasn t getting solved.
It also has a dark scaly tail that measures longer than its entire head and.
They are usually dark in color slender and 7 8 inches long.
Angela hart said she caught at least 20 roof rats in her lakewood yard.
The rats initially got into the attic then a crawl space and eventually the house.
Critter ridder quickly and accurately diagnosed the problem and found how the rats were getting into the house.
Gilbert and tempe are both in the top 5 for roof rats nationwide.
Pack rats are very common throughout the valley with higher populations being found in homes and businesses that are next to desert areas.
They re a specialized rat that has adapted to the modern lifestyle of humans here in the desert.
Roof rats fact sheet roof rats in the desert.
As roof rats are traveling around looking for food and shelter you and your neighbors may be laying out the welcome mat inviting these rodents into your home.
Your best defense against roof rats is to learn what they are assess your risk and then learn how to stop them.
Roof rats rattus rattus sometimes called black rats fruit rats or house rats are aerial very agile climbers and usually live and nest above ground in shrubs trees and dense vegetation such as ivy.
Roof rats as the name implies make their nests in phoenix area attics.
A roof rat s range is approximately a 200 300 foot radius from the nesting area.
Why are they so common in the phoenix metro.
There are many reasons for this but one of the primary ones is that the citrus trees in many backyards in the valley provide a consistent food source for rats while attics are generally undisturbed by local.
There have subsequently been confirmed sightings of the roof rat in phoenix tempe glendale paradise valley and glendale.
If your neighbor down the street has roof rats they can quickly become your problem too.
What is a roof rat.
The first roof rat in phoenix was spotted in 2001.
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