Roof Rat Burrows

These burrows are often located under bushes or other types of dense vegetation.

Roof rat burrows.

They prefer to build nests among tree branches or use utility lines to access a roof or attic. Major cities like chicago have started utilizing this approach by filling the entrance of the burrow with dry ice. Suffocation agents for rats. Indoors roof rats like to build nests in the upper areas of the home where it s kept warm by rising heat.

Typical rat burrow the first distinct sign of a rat hole is the size of the entrance. You ll also notice fresh dirt just out of the entrance in a fan shape created when the rodents excavate dirt from the hole. Outdoors you can find roof rats nesting in trees shrubs wood piles and dense vegetation. As the dry ice melts it releases large volumes of carbon dioxide which fills the burrow and suffocates the rats.

Rats create underground pathways or burrows from their nest to food sources and to escape predators. It is therefore advisable to get rid of roof rats as soon as you become aware of their presence. Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and 1 or 2 exit holes away from the main entrance. Check along walls and grass for runways.

If residents find a rat burrow near the home it most likely belongs to a norway rat not a roof rat. As they can gnaw at and chew through metal pipes and plastic they can damage the structure of your house which might take a lot of effort and financial investment to fix. The norway rat digs tunnels to nest because it prefers to be on ground level. Unlike other rat species roof rats are also good climbers and build nests above ground not underground in burrows.