• 7 – 9.5cm in length, with a tail around the same length.
• 12 – 30g in weight.
• Their relatively small feet & head and large eyes & ears distinguish them from a young brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).

Lifecycle

• 4 – 16 young per litter; 7 – 8 litters a year.
• Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
• 8 – 12 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
• Usually ground living and burrowing, but often climbs.
• Preferred food is cereals.
• Will eat around 3g of food a day and can survive without any additional water. They will drink up to 3ml a day if their diet is particularly dry.

IMPACT

These rats are known for the damage they cause by chewing on materials, urinating on food and eating stored foods. They have also been known to chew on wires, which can cause fires to start. They also carry disease and ectoparasites. Rats will also attack both animals and humans. Human babies and even adults have been killed in rat attacks

PREVENTION

• Rats will eat almost anything, so keep your homes clean and don’t leave food out.
• Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
• Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
• Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through

The Norway rat is also called a "sewer rat". Norway rats tend to be larger and more aggressive to animals, humans and each other than Roof rats.

Common Name: Norway Rat, Size: 10" to 12" long, Shape: Rat, Shape: Rat, Legs: 4, Wings: No, Antenna: No, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Species: Rattus norvegicus, Family: Muridae Habits

• Usually ground living and burrowing, but sometimes climbs. The only species to occur in sewers in India.
• Preferred food is cereals.
• Will eat around 30g of food a day and drink 60ml.

DIET

Norway rats eat a wide variety of foods but mostly prefer cereal grains, meats, fish, nuts, and some fruits. HABITAT

When Norway rats invade buildings, they usually remain in the basement or ground floor. They also live in fields, farms, woodpiles and buildings. Their nests are usually lined with shredded paper or cloth.

lifecycle

• 7 – 8 young per litter; 3 – 6 litters a year. • Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
• 10 – 12 weeks from birth to sexual maturity. Habits
• Usually ground living and burrowing, but sometimes climbs. The only species to occur in sewers in India.
• Preferred food is cereals.
• Will eat around 30g of food a day and drink 60ml.

IMPACT

These rats are known for the damage they cause by chewing on materials, urinating on food and eating stored foods. They have also been known to chew on wires, which can cause fires to start. They also carry disease and ectoparasites. Rats will also attack both animals and humans. Human babies and even adults have been killed in rat attacks.

PREVENTION

• Rats will eat almost anything, so keep your homes clean and don’t leave food out.
• Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
• Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
• Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through.

Roof Rats are excellent climbers and get their name because they usually live high off the ground, like on the roof of a building. They have very poor vision and are color blind, but they have extremely strong senses of hearing, smell, touch and taste. Rats have four to six litters a year and each litter has 6 to 12 babies in it. These rats are only pregnant for about 21 to 23 days and they can start reproducing when they are three months old. Common Name: Roof Rat, Size: 16" nose to tail, Shape: Rat, Color: Black, Legs: 4, Wings: No, Antenna: No, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Species: Rattus rattus, Family: Muridae

Lifecycle

• 5 – 10 young per litter; 3 – 6 litters a year.
• Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
• 12 – 16 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.

DIET

Roof Rats prefer eating fruits, berries, vegetables, cereal, pet food, nuts, grain, slugs, snails and rotten food.

HABITAT

Roof Rats are excellent climbers and they usually live in spaces on the tops of buildings, on roofs or in attics. They also live in sheds, garages, boxes, ceilings, under floors, in wood heaps and in thick grass. Habits

• Rare in India. Appearance confined mainly to ports.
• Often climbs, agile, rarely burrowing and rarely outdoors in India.
• Preferred food is moist fruits.
• Will eat around 15g of food a day and drink 15ml.

IMPACT

Roof rats cause damage to structures by chewing, eating stored foods and carrying diseases, such as Hantavirus. They are most famous for spreading the highly contagious bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. Rats will also attack both animals and humans. Human babies and even adults have been killed in rat attacks.

PREVENTION

• Rats like to eat, so keep your homes clean and do not leave food out.
• Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
• Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
• Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through.

• Large rat-like rodent, up to 40 cm including tail
• Dorsally dark brown fur
• Light to dark grey fur ventrally
• Head body length about 25cm
• Long and scaly tail uniformly dark and shorter than head-body length
• Adults of both sexes have a smell which is similar to pigs
• Blunt muzzle
• When cornered, the bandicoot rat erects is bristles and spits like a cat.

Lifecycle

• Bandicoot rats have a rapid rate of reproduction, the usual age of first breeding is at 3 months, the average number of litter being 7, breeding season all year round with a peak in spring.
• Bandicoot rats are quite aggressive even against individuals of the same species and dig extensive burrows. Each burrow will only be inhabited by one bandicoot rat. Habits
• Bandicoot rats are often living in scrub lands and jungles, but are also common in villages and towns
• They are considered as one of the most damaging agricultural pests, as they hoard a lot of grains in their burrows.
• Originally grain feeders, they often change their diet according to availability and can also change their diet totally to animal matter
• Bandicoot rates have been known to attack Poultry and are seen as a threat to infants as a group of them can easily attack and devour a child.

IMPACT

These rats are known for the damage they cause by chewing on materials, urinating on food and eating stored foods. They have also been known to chew on wires, which can cause fires to start. They also carry disease and ectoparasites. Rats will also attack both animals and humans. Human babies and even adults have been killed in rat attacks.

PREVENTION

• Rats will eat almost anything, so keep your homes clean and don’t leave food out.
• Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
• Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
• Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through.