This document examines the damage done by roof rats and ways of dealing with the damage they cause. It was brought to America on the first ships to reach the New World and has spread around the world. This rat is the same species that carried the bubonic plague around the world and is also the reservoir host for murine typhus.
Roof rats are the worst rodent pest in the state of Florida and most abundant.
Roof rats consume and destroy stored animal and human food, attack fruit crops, and take up residence in attics, soffits, hollow walls, and out-buildings. The secretive, nocturnal nature of rats means that they often go unnoticed in a neighborhood until dooryard citrus and other fruit starts to ripen. They thenmake their presence known with a vengeance. Figure 1 . Hollowed-out fruit is the most common evidence of roof rats.