You can have a minor rat problem without ever seeing a rat.
Roof rats san francisco.
The most likely culprits are roof rats which seem to be on the rise in bay area neighborhoods of all economic levels.
Look to nature for help.
The norway rat also called the brown wharf or sewer rat can be found virtually everywhere humans live.
The three important urban rodents are norway rats roof rats and house mice.
Check your roof for potential entrances to the attic area.
Roof rats are climbers and usually live above ground such as in attics while norway rats commonly known as sewer rats are stockier rodents and burrow underground in building foundations.
The roof rat also know as the black rat is omnivorous and largely nocturnal.
Globalp getty images istockphoto 4 of 10 one way to tell a norway rat.
Both grow upwards of 15 inches from nose to tail but vary in color and behavior.
Their undersides are often white gray or black.
Though you probably won t have a good look at it a roof rat s tail is another feature that differentiates it from other rodents.
Roof rats have soft and smooth fur that is typically brown with intermixed spots of black.
Roof rats are long and thin rodents that have large eyes and ears a pointed nose and a scaly tail.
3 of 10 the roof rat or black rat rattus rattus also is one of the most common rats in san antonio and the nation.
On the farms they lived in barns and corncribs.
Roof rats which can grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches are often mistaken for squirrels and can be gray brown or black.
Only where populations are relatively high does one see them frequently in the daytime.
In california both the norway rat and roof rat cause significant problems for property owners.
Adult roof rats measure 6 8 16 20 cm when combining their head and body length.
Rats are members of the rodent family a group that also includes gophers squirrels and mice.
Norway rats are reddish brown with gray undersides.