Norway Rat

Norway Rat - Other identifications are brown rat, gray rat, common rat, house rat, wharf rat, water rat, barn rat, sewer, rat and super rat. These specific rats can reach up to 16” in length, Each female rat can spawn up to 20 pups in her life’s duration. Some contributing factors affecting rat populations in cities include continuously mild winters, weather-related disasters, and destruction or encroachment of their habitats by new urban development.

Scientific Name - Rattus Norvegicus
Color - Usually grayish-brown, but color varies from a pure gray to a reddish brown; hard to distinguish from just the color
Weight - 10-16 ounces; larger than roof rat
Length - 7-10 inches Tail Length - 6-8 inches; shorter than the body
Body - Heavy and thick body, blunt nose
Ears - Large and protruding black eyes Lifespan - 5 to 12 months
Droppings - ¾ inch long with blunt ends; dark color; found in groupings

The daily diet of the norway rat intakes 1-2 ounces of water daily and consumes 0.5-1 ounce of food per day. Those foods consist of cereal grains, meats, seeds, cockroaches, fruits and shrimp. Norway Rats live throughout the U.S and Canada. They nest in burrows in soil, sewers, basements, lower portion of buildings and don't rome more than 100 feet from their home. Norway rats are nocturnal and the bulk of their feeding occurs 30 minutes after sunset and before sunrise. During their reproduction they produce 8-12 pups per litter and have 4-7 litters per year. After spawning they achieve sexual maturity after 2-3 months, and the gestation period (fetus development) is 22 days. Lastly their breeding period whilst indoors is all-year round, and outdoors is Spring & Fall.