Pest Gallery
Norway Rat: Rattus norvegicus
norway ratThe Norway rat is also known as the house rat, brown rat, wharf rat, sewer rat, water rat, and gray rat. The Norway rat is the most widely-distributed rat species in the United States, being found in all the states. The Norway rat is larger, stronger, more aggressive, and better adapted for producing young and surviving in colder climates that the roof rat and other rat species.
The Norway rate has a stocky body, weighing between 12 and 16 ounces as an adult. The body fur is coarse and ranges from reddish to grayish brown with buff-white underparts, but there are many color variations including black Norway rates.
Breeding peaks for the Norway rate are normally in the spring and fall of the year, decreasing during the hot summer and the cold winter. After mating and a gestation period of about 22 days, the mother rat gives birth to a litter of 8-12 pups. The average females rat has 4 to 7 litters per year and may successfully wean 20 or more pups annually.
Rats require about 1 ounce of food daily. They prefer food with high carbohydrate and protein content although almost any type of food will be taken. Rats require ½ to 1 ounce of water daily when feeding on dry foods, but need less if their food source is moist. Unlike mice, rats cannot survive for very long without free water.
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