Rats have lived near people since humanity established the first cities and thrived alongside human civilization ever since. While each continent has its native rodent species, global trade and migration have spread various rat species worldwide. That’s fine when they stay in nature—but once rats invade your home or yard, they become destructive pests. If you’re wondering how to eliminate rats for good, it starts with understanding what you’re up against. So better to think of a way to remove rats effectively.
The very qualities that have made rats so successful also make them persistent household nuisances. Rats can eat just about anything. They’re bold, hardy, and increasingly resistant to many diseases and parasites. Some rats are even drawn to shiny, metallic objects—gnawing on car engines and wires. If you want to protect your health and home, you’ll need a comprehensive strategy. In many cases, that means calling in a professional exterminator.
The very qualities that have made rats so successful also make them persistent household nuisances. Rats can eat just about anything. They’re bold, hardy, and increasingly resistant to many diseases and parasites. Some rats are even drawn to shiny, metallic objects—gnawing on car engines and wires. If you want to protect your health and home, you’ll need a comprehensive strategy. In many cases, that means calling in a professional exterminator.
What Are the Most Common Types of Rats in the U.S.?
There are innumerable species of rats spread throughout the order of Rodentia, the rodent family. Different kinds of rats vary widely in terms of diet, temperament, behavior and size. Larger species can grow to weigh more than a pound and measure more than a foot in length, counting the tail. Common traits include extremely strong teeth that can chew through wood and even concrete in some cases, as well as the ability to slip through extremely small spaces.
Rats are social animals, with some species living in family units. In others, the males are highly aggressive toward each other. The larger, stronger ones will attempt to monopolize mating in an area and prevent other males from mating.
Mothers can take care of their young for as little as two weeks or longer than a month. The offspring are blind at birth but will quickly become independent and capable of reproduction. Rats can generally reproduce as young as two months old, and from this point on, they can reproduce around five to six times a year. Each of these litters can be as small as five or larger than a dozen, and if you’re doing the math, you’ll see that that’s too many rats.
Two rats alone can have close to 100 offspring in a year, and their offspring will have already produced several new generations in the same time. With a suitable place to live, a few rats can quickly produce an infestation of thousands. In their lives, they’ll present a health and safety risk and can cause serious property damage, and after they die, they’ll release putrid gases that can trigger asthma attacks and attract other pests. If you suspect that you have a rat infestation, you need to act fast.
Rats belong to the vast rodent family known as Rodentia, which includes numerous species that differ in behavior, size, diet, and temperament. Some rats grow over a foot long (tail included) and weigh over a pound. They all share a few defining traits: strong teeth capable of chewing through wood and concrete, and the ability to squeeze through tiny spaces.
Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Also called sewer rats or brown rats, Norway rats are the largest common species in the U.S. Despite the name, they likely originated in China. They prefer burrows, sewers, and ground-level hiding places. They’re aggressive, destructive, and known to bite pets. Their droppings are blunt-ended and larger than grains of rice.
Roof Rats (Rattus rattus) Smaller and sleeker than Norway rats, these black rats are agile climbers. They’re often found in attics and high ledges. They prefer fruits, grains, and plant-based foods and are most common in coastal or southern states.
Pack Rats (Neotoma spp.) Native to the American Southwest, pack rats (also called woodrats) are known for stealing shiny objects and building elaborate dens. They thrive in dry regions and are less dependent on water than Old World rats.
Where Do Rats Live?
Rats are found wherever people live. They’re nocturnal, heat-tolerant, and supremely adaptable. The only truly rat-free zones on Earth are those that combine severe cold and low human activity—like parts of Antarctica. Even so, rats have reached some polar islands by ship and devastated fragile ecosystems.
In the U.S., rats are found in every state. Urban areas like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia experience intense infestations due to dense housing and overflowing trash. Chicago has even earned the nickname “Rat City.”
Where Do Rats Nest Indoors? Rats select nesting sites based on shelter, warmth, food access, and safety. Depending on species, you might find them in:
- Attics and crawlspaces
- Wall voids and insulation
- Under kitchen cabinets
- Garages and sheds
- Inside boxes or storage bins
Outdoor nests often appear under decks, in brush piles, or beneath fruit trees. Tree-dwelling rats, like roof rats, often use overhanging branches to enter attics. Ground-dwelling species favor basements and garages.
Where Rats Live in the Home
If you live somewhere besides Western Canada, rats might make their home in or around yours. Some species live in trees and eat nuts and fruit, while others live in tunnels, tall grass, and shrubbery. Arboreal (tree-based) rats are likely to settle in your attic or higher areas of your home, while terrestrial (ground-based) rats often nest closer to the ground. To them, a pile of rubbish or a cluttered garage is just as cozy as a secluded tunnel network. Both types often venture into your pantry at night in search of food, leaving feces and spreading bacteria as they go.
Rats can also hide in or around your outdoor AC unit, using it for protection or as a nesting site—especially during colder months. Unfortunately, their presence can lead to serious damage to wires, insulation, and other HVAC components. If you suspect rodent activity or notice irregular performance in your system, contact Estes Services to inspect, repair, and maintain your HVAC unit, ensuring your home remains safe and efficient.
How Long Do Rats Live?
How long do rats live? It depends on circumstance, species, and luck. Pet rats have lived as long as four years with optimal care, nutrition, and a suitable environment. However, these are luxuries that wild rats can’t count on, and it shows in the relative shortness of their lifespan. Rats suffer fairly high rates of mortality early in life, and less than half will make it to one year of age in the more long-lived species. Some common rat species live to around a year, while others can make it two years fairly often. Even in these species, though, it’s extremely rare to see a rat live to three years old in the wild.
In short, the answer to “how long does a rat live” is “not very long.” That said, whether a rat lives for as little as a year or three, it will be able to reproduce many times over. The fast pace of their life cycle means that even with high rates of juvenile mortality, the average rat will have dozens or hundreds of offspring that make it to sexual maturity.
How Long Do Rats Live?
In the wild, rats live relatively short lives. Most die within a year—often due to predators, poison, or disease. A few make it to two or three years, while well-cared-for pet rats can survive four years or more.
What rats lack in longevity, they make up for in reproduction. Even with high juvenile mortality rates, a single pair of rats can create hundreds of descendants in one year.
What’s the Best Way to Get Rid of Rats?
Step 1: Identify the Infestation
- Look for droppings, nests, gnaw marks, and grease trails.
- Identify the species if possible—treatment methods vary.
Step 2: Block Entry Points
- Seal cracks and holes with steel wool and caulk.
- Cover vents and gaps under doors.
Step 3: Eliminate Food and Water
- Store all food in sealed containers.
- Fix leaks and clean up pet food.
Step 4: Choose a Control Method
- Snap traps: Fast and effective
- Electric traps: Quick kills with no mess
- Live traps: Require humane release (not legal in all areas)
- Rodenticides: Effective but pose risks to pets and wildlife
- Professional help: Best for large or recurring infestations
Step 5: Sanitize and Monitor
- Clean contaminated areas.
- Use tamper-proof bait stations for ongoing monitoring.
How to Eliminate Rats Naturally & Without Harming Pets
If you need to remove rats naturally, you have a variety of options to choose from. While fumigating a home with poison gases is the easiest way to kill rats in your house, it’s an extreme step that often isn’t necessary. Instead of destroying their nests, you can make your home uninviting.
Identify areas of rat activity—such as feces, paw prints, and dirt from their oily bodies—and place traps in these areas. If you find that rats are leaving traces of their presence in the pantry or the trash, then you know where they’re getting their food. You should take steps to make sure the rats have access to as little food as possible in your home, which will encourage them to take the bait in your snap traps.
The harder it is for rats to find other food sources, the more likely they’ll be to walk into snap traps or eat a natural rat killer. If you find and seal the holes that rats use to get into your home, the less likely an infestation will continue.
Homemade Rat Poison
Baking soda-based homemade rat poisons are popular, and the idea behind them is sound. That is to say, people combine small amounts of baking soda with sugar and cocoa powder so that rats will eat the baking soda. In turn, the baking soda reacts with chemicals in the stomach of the rats and produces gas that causes an intestinal rupture. This is a cheap, simple solution using things you probably have in your home, and it can get surprisingly good results while posing little or no risk to children and pets.
However, rats need to consume a fairly large amount of baking soda for it to be fatal. Furthermore, the adaptability of their bodies means that they can become more tolerant of the concoction. If they don’t quickly consume enough homemade baking soda rat poison to die, then you might find this solution becomes entirely ineffective. However, you can also devise homemade rat repellants out of essential oils and aromas.
How to Get Rid of Rats in Your House
When rats invade your home, the exact steps you’ll take to get rid of them will vary based on the type of rat and the source of the infestation. If you have kids and pets, then you’ll need to be careful about the kind of poisons and traps you place. Additionally, the location of the rat nests will influence the measures you should take to eliminate the infestation. A rat trap is a lot less likely to hurt someone when it’s in the attic than next to the cereal cabinet, after all.
But there are common threads between all types of rat infestations. First, you know that the rats are getting into your home from outside and that they have a nest somewhere that they hide in during the day. What draws them to your home isn’t just shelter but food and water. In the eyes of a rat, an accessible trash can or a bag of dog food is as good as a buffet. Virtually anything that has nutritional value can sustain a rat infestation. If you have leaking faucets creating even tiny pools of standing water, that will meet their needs for drinking as well.
Your home is always going to shelter invading rats from predators and the elements, there’s not much you can do about that. However, you can make your home inhospitable to a rat infestation by making sure they have no access to food and water. Get a secure lid for your trash can, don’t leave food out overnight, and try to find where the rats in your house are getting their sustenance from. This is a valuable step in preventing a rat infestation as well as coping with a current infestation. However, the resourcefulness and resilience of rats mean that you’ll also want to employ more proactive measures to kill rats in your home. Apply some of the following tips to get rid of rat infestations in different parts of your property.
How to Remove Rats in Your House
When rats invade your home, the exact steps you’ll take to control them will vary based on the type of rat and the source of the infestation. If you have kids and pets, then you’ll need to be careful about the kind of poisons and traps you place. Additionally, the location of the rat nests will influence the measures you should take to eliminate the infestation.
Apply some of the following tips to control rat infestations in different parts of your property.
Eliminating Rats in the Attic
Dealing with rats in the attic is somewhat easier than in other spaces throughout the home. Since the attic is enclosed, you can use stronger poisons and be generous with traps to thin out the infestation—just take precautions to keep kids out of the area.
Managing Rats in Walls and Ceilings
Removing rats from walls and ceilings can be challenging, as these spaces are the most inaccessible areas of your home. Even if you can’t reach the rats in your walls, you can still cut off food sources and leave traps nearby.
Controlling Rats in the Yard
Even if there’s no access point for rats to enter your home, rats in your yard can still be dangerous nuisances. Outdoor infestations can damage gardens, attract predators, and spread diseases. Use enclosed traps or natural deterrents like owl boxes to discourage rats safely.
Permanent Rat Removal with Nextgen Pest Solutions
At Nextgen Pest Solutions, we’ve helped customers across the South protect their property and families from invasive pests. If you live in GA, FL, or AL and suspect you have rat problems, reach out to our experts for professional rat removal and prevention.
Rat FAQs
1. What are the signs of a rat infestation?
Droppings, gnaw marks, scratching noises, and greasy rub marks along walls are the most common indicators.
2. How can I keep rats away naturally?
Seal food tightly, remove clutter, and use peppermint oil, ammonia, or ultrasonic repellents to discourage rats.
3. Are electronic rat traps effective?
Yes—electric traps provide instant kills, are reusable, and don’t require handling dead rodents directly.
4. When should I call a professional exterminator?
If you see multiple rats, persistent droppings, or hear nighttime noises in walls or ceilings, professional control is recommended.
