Roof Rat Citrus Damage Pictures

In livestock feed yards and barns roof rats often burrow.

Roof rat citrus damage pictures.

Ecology of roof rats and native rats. Fruit rats or roof rats as they re commonly called thrive in warm fruit bearing areas. Roof rats get ferocious and tend to bite or scratch when threatened or cornered. Spp or cotton rat sigmodon arizonae.

Install rat guard around the trunks of the citrus trees. While casual observations of roof rats or native rats can. Other identifying traits include their pointed noses hairless ears and dark fur with light colored underbellies. In nut orchards roof rats often nest around the base of trees.

Their undersides are often white gray or black. Roof rats are long and thin rodents that have large eyes and ears a pointed nose and a scaly tail. According to the university of california statewide integrated pest management program roof rats are especially fond of avocados and citrus and often eat fruit that is still on the tree. Roof rats can be cautious.

Table 1 provides a brief description of the physical similarities and differences among these rodents. Roof rats are food hoarders stashing supplies of food such as seeds and nuts. Adult roof rats measure 6 8 16 20 cm when combining their head and body length. Roof rats are frequent visitors to yards and homes across the country.

Their bodies are seven or eight inches in length though their bald scaly tails add up to ten more inches. From rat bites and scratches to saliva and urine rats can cause many diseases. The rat zapper should be placed close to a roof rat nest or in their runways said ernie henson president and owner of stormin norman termite and pest control. The roof rat can appear similar to the norway rat native arizona pack rat neotoma.

Use a sheet metal or aluminum flashing that is at least 18 inches tall and wrap it around the base of the tree overlapping it by 2 or 3. These rodents prefer to consume fruits sometimes referred to as the fruit rat or citrus rat and nuts although roof rats are omnivorous and will feed on almost anything available to them. Roof rats are a health hazard being one of the oldest transmitters of diseases. By teri carnicelli the overabundance of citrus this winter and spring may seem like a happy circumstance for those who enjoy spending hours squeezing oranges and grapefruits or making tasty desserts with lemons and limes.

These bites or scratches can cause what is known as rat bite fever or even tetanus.