Most people don’t like rats because they perceive these rodents as destructive, disease carriers, filthy, etc.
No one welcomes rats in their home, but these rodents don’t ask for approval. They only worry about their needs, and that’s why they’re great at infiltrating people’s homes.
These rodents live in attics, walls, and other unusual areas of homes and only come out at night. The worst part? You can’t tell how many rats roam your home at night because they expand their population quickly.
In today’s article, I will highlight common signs of rats in your home and share ways you can determine their approximate number, so let’s jump right in.
Signs of Rats in Your Home
You can tell you have rats in your home by scratch marks, droppings, and sightings.
If you see a rat inside your house, you likely have a rat problem. Fortunately, rats aren’t familiar with humans, so they will probably avoid you around the house.
The following signs suggest you have a rat issue and should contact rat control experts as soon as possible:
- Bite marks
- Scratch marks
- Gnawed wires
- Tiny footprints
- Grease marks
- Gnaw marks
- Rat holes
- Small nests made of wood and paper
- Rice-sized poop
- Scratching sounds in the walls
Can You Tell the Number of Rats in Your Home?
Unless you rip your walls out and manually count the colony, you can’t confirm exactly how many rats have invaded your home.
While you can’t tell the exact number of rats, you can still guess by the intensity of the signs above.
You’re likely dealing with more than one rat if you see many droppings. Typically, urban colonies consist of a few rats, but their population can increase if you have enough food supplies in your home. (see Will Mice Leave Your House if There is No Food?)
The solution: Call your local pest control experts before the rat colony increases.
How Do You Know if You Have Multiple Rats?
Over time, rats have become experts at invading people’s homes.
Moreover, they’re intelligent and only appear at night, so determining the number of rats in your home can take a lot of time and effort.
Rats won’t voluntarily appear in front of you, so you must become creative at estimating a number. You can still determine how many rats remain in your home in different ways, such as the following:
Rat Droppings in Different Sizes
Rat droppings have a rice shape. They’re usually shorter than 1 inch, but their size can vary if you have young and old rats in the home. You probably have a large colony on your hands if you see brown rat droppings in different sizes.
Therefore, you’re dealing with a larger infestation if you notice a combination of large and small droppings.
Never touch rat droppings and urine without gloves because they carry different diseases. Always wear protective gear when handling rat poop, and sweep and discard the droppings with a broom you don’t use for cleaning inside the home.
Afterward, clean the surface with vinegar or bleach-based cleaner for disinfection.
Many Scratch and Bite Marks
If you see many scratches and bike marks around your home, you have more than one rat on your hands. You can also estimate the infestation by the number of holes.
You likely have a small rat colony inside your property if you occasionally stumble upon scratches and bites in your flooring.
However, if you see big holes in your walls in several rooms and your furniture’s missing parts, the colony’s probably larger.
More and Bigger Rat Nests
You can estimate the number of rats in your home by the size and number of nests you find. The presence of one nest means there’s a family of rats on your property.
If you find more rat nests in your basement, rafters, or crawl space, ask yourself: “How many rodents could fit in these nests?”
The answer should give you a sense of how many rats roam your home at night. If you can’t find a rat nest, the rats leave your home and return when hungry.
You Keep Hearing Noises at Night
If you keep hearing noises at night, you probably have a lot of rats in your home.
Common sounds include scratching, crawling, and gnawing inside walls, ceilings, floors, and other surfaces at night.
If you occasionally hear a sound here and there from these nocturnal creatures, you may have multiple rats in the attic, basement, walls, etc.
Where you hear noises also matters. If you keep hearing noises in walls and ceilings all over your property, there’s a higher chance of a fairly large infestation.
How Many Rats Are There if You See One?
If you’ve only spotted one rat in the past couple of weeks, you likely don’t have a big rat problem.
However, if you notice multiple rats daily or every second day, you are dealing with a pretty expansive rat problem.
Most rats aren’t familiar with people. On the contrary, they fear us and will go out of their way to stay undercover.
In other words, rats usually avoid people, so if you see multiple rats regularly, you likely have a large rat infestation on your hands and should call rat control experts.
Summary
The signs above can help you estimate the number of rats in your house.
Whether you have a small or large rat infestation on your hands, don’t worry because there’s a wide range of solutions for rat infestation.
If you estimate a small or medium-sized colony, you can try placing bait products, traps, and other common solutions for rat control. Also, continue observing the situation.
If you keep seeing evidence of rats after a few weeks, perhaps rearranging the traps in more or different areas of your home can provide better results.
Call a Pest Control Expert for a Severe Rat Infestation
If you suspect a pretty extensive rat infestation, these products won’t help because you have many rats in your house.
Young rats produce baby rats at a fast pace, so act immediately.
Instead of losing your precious time, money, and mind trying to solve a rodent infestation, hire pest control experts.
They can quickly determine the location of the rats inside your property and try different solutions. The best part? Most pest control experts provide a free estimate of how much your rat problem would cost you.