Rats And Possums In The Roof

If you have roof rats you may see rat droppings around your home outside your home or in your yard.

Rats and possums in the roof.

Rats have long hairless tail while possums have long hairy tail with a bushy appearance. Possums mainly catch and eat rats roof rats and mice apart from preying on other rodents. Rats are always omnivorous whereas possums are usually herbivores and opportunistic omnivores. Rat droppings urine and nest can contain dangerous pathogens and bacteria that can make you very sick.

Cut back trees that are growing near you home so possums don t have easy access to your roof. You can also put spikes along fences to keep them from using these as a highway. Possum sprays nurseries hardware stores and supermarkets stock a range of possum deterrent sprays or you can make your own. Research online the most effective ways to do this.

Possum is native to oceania but rats have a worldwide distribution. Yes possums can eat rats. Rats and mice constantly move around except when nesting. Whether they are roof rats also called black rats or norway rats munching on your fruit the average homeowner can usually eradicate them from the landscape without calling in the professionals.

The dietary pattern of a possum makes it a highly beneficial species for humans. These droppings may be near the dropped eaten fruit mentioned in 1. Some other ways to deter them are. If you catch a possum you must release it within 24 hours and it must be at night.

Usually possums are nocturnal but rats are both nocturnal and diurnal. In dense populations these rodents will establish a social hierarchy wherein dominant males mate more than subordinate males. Unlike rats and mice they produce a large volume of urine so stains on a ceiling will usually indicate possums. What you ll want to look for are any signs that the rats are present including droppings tracks gnaw marks burrows runways and rodent sounds.

The first thing to note here is that trapping possums requires a permit. That factor also creates a distinctive possum smell which is easily recognised with a bit of experience. You may see rat droppings. Roof rats become sexually mature between two and five months producing four to six litters per year that consist of six to eight young each.

Most councils have wire mesh possum traps you can rent. Get rid of roof rats in four basic steps. In fact not just rats they are found to feed on most of the rodents that cause problems to humans.