Black Rat
Pack Rats, belong to the genus Neotoma and the proper common name is not pack rat, but wood rat. There are over 21 separate species of wood rats ranging from near the arctic circle in Canada all the way down to Nicaragua in central America. The species common to our area in Tucson, AZ area is the White Throated Wood Rat (Neotoma albigula). All members of the Neotoma originated in North America and are referred to as new world rats.
White Throated Wood Rat (aka: Pack Rat)
The term "rat" is generic and commonly used to refer to larger long tailed rodents and the term "mice" to smaller long tailed rodents. All belong to a large superfamily of rodents (1,300 species!) called Muroidea, which also includes hamsters, gerbils, lemmings, and many other relatives.
Muroidea is just one of several families of rodents. Squirrels, porcupines, beavers are also rodents. There are 2,277 species of rodents. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents!
So why does this matter?
Not all rats are alike. What works for one species may not work for another. 99% of all rat problems in the United States are related to the old world rats - roof and Norway! All of the poison baits sold are specifically formulated and labeled for roof rats and Norway rats. 99% of all pest control training and literature for rats is written for roof rats and Norway rats.
Unless you live in a few very specific areas of the country you may never encounter a pack rat. Pack rats are different. They nest differently, they eat different foods, they breed differently and they have different behaviors.
If you are having a rat issue, it is important to know what type of rat you are dealing with before coming up with the best solution to actually solve the problem.
Thank you VERY much for your website. It was a welcome relief after many hours over many months of reading irrelevant material about urban rats. I know I have wood rats, and there's not much good information out there.
ReplyDeleteYour information is of course about desert-dwellers. I am overrun with them at 6300 ft elevation in northeastern California near Lake Tahoe. There is no cactus here; only pines and aspen trees and numerous shrubs and bushes. Deep snow in the winter (except this dry year) and very dry, low-humidity summers. These critters have taken up residence in a large (45' x 30') shed which due to its construction is impossible to entirely block off all entry points (I keep finding more). They nest in the (nearly inaccessible to humans) upper "attic" area but at night wander throughout the ground level where my hardware, tools, equipment, machinery and workshop are located. They steal, collect and hide all manner of hardware, which I can live with (or put away better); but worse, they leave droppings everywhere, and their bright orange-red urine stains everything. Two recently-acquired feral cats ignored them until one disappeared (presumably thanks to a coyote). They even defecate in the cat's litter box (as well as everywhere else). I think they've started to steal the cat's food, along with a marauding raccoon who seems not to be bothered by, or bother, the rats at all. Their residence seems to be independent of any food interest. Until 6 months ago there was no food of any kind in or near the shed, and because of bears I am very careful about leaving any food or garbage outside.
So what to do? Do you have a colleague in the Reno, NV - to - Sacramento, CA area? People here I've consulted don't know a fraction about pack rats that your website offers, and exterminators don't seem to understand the difference between these and roof/Norway rats. I'm at a loss. If I didn't need it, I'd burn the shed down just to kill the damn rats!
One fall I poisoned a bunch of them, they seemed to be gone, but returned a year later in larger numbers. Having read your website, now I would not poison them for fear of poisoning their predators (although their numbers indicate the rats don't have many of those!).
I would build a barn owl nest and cut access holes high up in the shed walls, but don't know how to do that right, and have heard owls are very difficult to attract.
Any advice, references and recommendations are welcome. A consultation when you are visiting your medical student son would be even better!
I'm signed below as "Anonymous" only because I don't have any of the accounts offered. .