Rats

The key aspects of rat behaviour that need to be considered in planning and managing the most effective rodent control programmes are:

• Nocturnal Feeding – Unless acutely overcrowded or disturbed, rats feed almost exclusively at night, remaining well concealed in family burrows during the day. This means only a minority of the population is ever seen and infestations must be judged by evidence of previous activity, making them easy to underestimate.
• Neophobia – As a survival strategy, rats are extremely wary of unfamiliar objects as well as human activity and dwelling in the open. This means they can be very cautious of new bait containers ( bait boxes) and foods, avoiding them initially and only consuming small amounts until confident of their safety.
• Foraging Instinct – With their inherent caution, rats seem to favour foods made up of a variety of different looks, textures, tastes and smells. Their acute sense of smell and taste can make them especially wary of foods with strong odours. This can limit the appeal and consumption of baits of a uniform consistency, especially if they have a single strong odour and other food sources are readily available.
• Regular Habits – Rats are creatures of habit, feeding at two or three familiar places and using established, well covered routes to move from their burrows (usually in rough ground) to their feeding points in and around buildings. This means they leave obvious signs of activity along relatively easy to identify routes which provide ideal baiting points.