The Rat Exterminator Braintree How Can We Help You?

The brown/Norway rat is the most common rat found in the UK, they can weigh over half a kilo and measure round 23cm which doesn’t include the length of the tail. The rat has a blunt muzzle small ears covered in hair and a tail that’s shorter than its body.

Rat issues are often started with just one individual pregnant female rat that leaves a colony; she then moves to a new area to start her own family group. The first stages of an infestation can go unnoticed before the tell-tale signs of gnawing, droppings and torn material’s used for nesting. A rat’s pregnancy can last roughly about 21 days after which she can give birth to a litter of about 6 to 8 young.

Rats are very intelligent and can fend for themselves within 21 days and then go on to breed when they reach about 60 to 90 days old. Rats are generally nocturnal and only come out to feed in the evening and throughout the night and so will rarely be seen during the day. The rat will eat around 50grams of food a day and are omnivorous and will eat almost anything humans eat. A rat infestation can grow extremely quickly even though there is a high mortality rate in the young.

You may only start to notice that you have a rat infestation when discovering signs of damage. You may find evidence of damage to food packaging and signs to gnawing to containers, other signs would include droppings which will tend to be dark in colour and be roughly the size of a raisin other signs may include smear marks to skirting boards, entry holes where the rat has been passing by.

If the infestation is established, you may even notice a faint odour. Rats can cause damage to pretty much anything including wooden joists/beams wires and even plastic water pipes. All of these can cause expensive damage along with the risk of flooding and even fire.