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RODENTS

THE BROWN RAT, NORWAY RAT OR SEWER RAT

deratisation-rat

(Rattus norvegicus)

THE BROWN RAT, NORWAY RAT OR SEWER RAT

  • Length (head & body) Length (head & body): 19 to 26 cm long, with a tail that is shorter than both the head and body together.
  • Weight: 400 à 700g.
  • Appearance: Grey coat, rounded snout, small ears and body bigger than the black rat.
  • Life span: 3 years.
  • Reproduction: 4 to 12 babies per litter and 5 to 6 litters/year.
  • Gestation period: 20 to 24 days
  • Habitat: Dark, moist places.
  • Diet: cereals and omnivorous.

The brown rat, also known as the sewer rat is a scourge for humans. Originally from Central Asia, the brown rat invaded Europe and all the continents with the help of human ships. Its a rodent that is more or less amphibious, swimming and diving with ease. It can live in the wild very well, digging deep burrows around water. In towns, it depends on humans and settles in cellars and the lower parts of houses, as well as in the sewers and pipes, where they can be found in significant numbers. Bigger and stronger than the black rat, the brown rat ousts its rival wherever it is found.

Some towns and cities are only home to brown rats. This rat is sociable, living in more or less numerous colonies. Brown rat societies are extremely well structured and very close social links ensure their survival and their safety. The different members of a colony help each other out and come to their aid in the event of danger. This type of community life makes it an almost insurmountable challenge to eradicate them. Furthermore, the brown rat is a dangerous vector of disease such as the plague.

THE BLACK RAT

deratisation-rat-noir

(Rattus rattus)

THE BLACK RAT

  • Length (head & body): 16 to 24 cm long, with a tail that is longer than both the head and body.
  • Weight: 150 to 200g.
  • Appearance: Black coat, pointed muzzle and large rounded ears.
  • Life span: 3 to 4 years.
  • Reproduction: 6 to 10 babies per litter and 3 to 6 litter/year
  • Gestation period: 20 to 24 days
  • Habitat: Ports, fields, and high parts of buildings.
  • Diet: Their favourite food is moist fruit.

This is the species that has inspired most of the legends and conventional wisdom about the rat’s ferocity. The brown (or Norway) rat, which lives in our cellars and sewers, is indeed much calmer and only attacks if it is disturbed or its escape route is blocked. Today the black rat can only be found in fields, hence is common name (in French), the field rat. It can be best described as a large mouse, slightly smaller than the brown rat. Indeed its appearance is much closer to mice than to brown rats, in terms of the morphology (round ears, body proportions, size of eyes, etc.), than its character.

The black rat in Europe.

The black rat was the dominant rat in Europe from Antiquity until the 18th century, when it was supplanted by the brown rat from India, more robust and fertile. The reason for this decline is probably due partly to the climate cooling from the 17th century onwards (the black rat is in fact sensitive to cold, like mice), and partly to the changes in construction habits, when barns and dirty streams (preferred by black rats) were abandoned in favour of cellars and sewers (preferred by brown rats). The plague epidemics of the Middle Ages, for which the black rat was not only the vector but also the victim, certainly played a role in reducing the population of this species. Today we find it in all countries in Europe, except Iceland and Norway.

Character

The black rat is a very intelligent animal and can be a captivating companion, but it is important to stress that this is not a domesticated species and it will always remain a wild animal (unlike its brown cousin). Certainly this is a wild animal that can be tamed and would no doubt be ready to exchange its freedom for free food and protection from predators, but it is nevertheless: a wild animal: don’t expect cuddles, and it will only stay in its cage if it accepts to do so (it can be incredibly determined to escape and once outside it is almost impossible to trap it, if it has decided otherwise). A few attempts to domesticate it have been attempted without much success. The only relatively effective way to tame a black rat is to take it from its mother when it is still a baby, before weaning, and feed it yourself as if you were its mother.

It is nevertheless important to note that each rat has its own very different personality and that it may be that even adults captured from the wild are friendly and playful. But they can also be very aggressive and have no hesitation in attacking animals much larger than them, simply because they have decided they are a rival to be eliminated. An interesting aspect of the black rat is that doesn’t think in terms of species or clans but based on individual emotional affinities. If a black rat has decided that it doesn’t like you, beware, it will have no hesitation in attacking you at the first opportunity, even if you haven’t harmed it. Black rats have a less serious bite that brown rat, but they are as quick as lightning and can be of true harpies by attacking you from all sides.

THE EDIBLE DORMOUSE OR FAT DORMOUSE

deratisation-loir

(Glis glis)

THE EDIBLE DORMOUSE OR FAT DORMOUSE

  • Length (head & body): 12 to 15 cm long, with a slightly shorter than the head and body.
  • Weight: 80 à 115 g.
  • Appearance: Grey fur, round ears, black eyes and bushy tail.
  • Life span: Can live for up to 6 years.
  • Reproduction: 2 to 8 babies per litter and 1 litter/year.
  • Gestation period: 30 to 32 days
  • Habitat: Woodland
  • Diet: Eats both fruit and meat with a preference for fruit.

The edible dormouse looks like a small squirrel with grey fur and silver tints. It has round ears, large black eyes and a bushy tail. It lives in deciduous forests and can often be found in orchards close to housing.

THE GARDEN DORMOUSE

deratisation-lerot

(Elyomis quereinus)

THE GARDEN DORMOUSE

  • Length (head & body): 12 to 15 cm long, with a tail that is slightly shorter than the head and body.
  • Weight: 60 à 140g.
  • Appearance: Its fur is brown on the back, white on the belly and it has large ears.
  • Reproduction: 2 to 8 babies per litter and 1 litter/year.
  • Gestation period: 30 to 32 days.
  • Habitat: Nests high up in holes in trees and walls.
  • Diet: Eats both fruit and meat (small insects or chicks) with a preference for fruit.

The garden dormouse finds its way into attics and attacks insulation material to build its nest.  They are noisy at night under the roofs and are extremely timid.

THE HOUSE MOUSE

deratisation-souris

(Mus musculus)

THE HOUSE MOUSE

  • Length (head & body): 6 to 10 cm long, with a tail usually longer than the head and body.
  • Weight: From 12 to 22g for the largest females.
  • Appearance: Grey-brown fur, large pointed ears.
  • Life span: 2 to 3 years.
  • Reproduction: 4 to 8 babies per litter and 5 to 10 litters/year.
  • Gestation period: 19 to 21 days.
  • Habitat: Lives in dry environments (inside and outside).
  • Diet: Omnivorous with a preference for cereals.

Mice attack food reserves that they devour and soil with their excrement. They live indoors and outdoors, in dry places.

WOOD MOUSE

deratisation-mulot

(Apodemus sylvatieus)

WOOD MOUSE

  • Length (head & body): between 8 and 10 cm long.
  • Weight: Between 10 to 30g.
  • Appearance: Brownish grey fur with a tapered tail and large ears.
  • Reproduction: 3 to 9 babies per litter and 3 to 4 litter/year.
  • Habitat: Digs many burrows close to buildings.
  • Diet: Omnivorous with a preference for cereals. Can survive without water.

The wood mouse digs many burrows 2 to 3 cm in diameter.  It lives in woods, fields, gardens and houses.  It can jump.  They live discretely in pairs.

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