For the rat lovers in the world, reports are that domestic rats make wonderful pets.  In the Indian city of Deshnoke, rats are revered at the Karni Mata temple.  There people believe that if you eat food or drink water that has been touched by these rats, you will be blessed.  Their wild cousins however are not so welcome in homes and businesses in New York City say NYC pest control experts.

In the United States non-domesticated rats are considered to be pests.  It is widely believed that wild rats originated in Asia and were inadvertently transported via ships to other parts of the world.  There are two types of wild rats:

• The Norway rat or brown rat grows to be about 10 inches long with a tail that is shorter than the rest of its body.

• The roof rat or black rat will grow to about 8 inches long with a tail that is always longer than the body.

These rats are prolific breeders.  Female rats are ready to begin breeding when they are about 3 to 4 months of age.  Once pregnant, the females will give birth in about 21 days.  During her one year life, a female rat can produce up to 7 litters per year. Each litter will have between 6 and 22 babies.  Wow!

Rats are aggressive and adaptable creatures.  They are on the constant lookout for food, water, and shelter, which makes human habitats the perfect place for rats to hang their hat.  Outdoors, rats live in burrows that are located near their food source.

Besides contaminating everything that they touch, rats are known carriers of a variety of diseases that are dangerous to humans.  Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Leptospirosis, Rat- Bite Fever, and the Plague are common reasons that rats tend to cause panic in humans. Don’t let rats come in and threaten the health and safety of your home or business. Contact a New York City pest control expert for expert rat removal services!