Today is April 4th and that can only mean one thing… it’s National Rat Day! Every year on this date, rat-lovers the world over come together to celebrate these highly intelligent and interesting rodents, sharing their experiences of them as pets, watching rat-based movies (like Ratatouille and The Secret of NIMH) and taking pictures of their rats to share online.
National Rat Day itself first started back in 2002, with the aim being to promote these animals as pets. Interestingly, April 4th was selected as the date for the awareness initiative because it was the date that the Ratlist started, the oldest mailing list on the internet dedicated to the topic of pet rats.
Of course, not everyone finds rats to be of such special interest and, to many of us, these rodents and their mouse cousins represent a serious pest problem, something that needs to be dealt with really rather swiftly indeed.
What’s important to remember is that there is a significant difference between domesticated and wild rats, although they’re both equally as intriguing.
Do you want to find out more about rats? Here are three fast rat facts to help you build up your knowledge base.
-
Rats teeth never stop growing.
They have to gnaw on whatever they can find in order to keep their teeth short, otherwise they’d find eating really rather difficult. This is why one of the top signs of a rat infestation are gnawing marks on wood and metal throughout your home or business.
-
Rats are usually nocturnal
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll see a rat out and about in the daytime, as they’re mainly nocturnal and like to hide away below ground, or in the attic or wall cavities. You may hear them scurrying about as you try to sleep, however!
-
Rats are excellent swimmers
Rats are incredibly good at swimming and can hold their breath for a couple of minutes. Check out this video to see how they swim up sewer pipes!
Looking for rat control near you? Get in touch with The Exterminator Pest Control to see how we can help.