But we're still smarter than they are. Fighting rats is a team effort. So, please, share this information with as many neighbors as you can. We have to work together to succeed. They can spread disease not only by biting, but by the fleas, lice, ticks and mites they carry, and by their droppings.
Rats make their homes close to where their food is.
So don t make it easy for them store foods at least a foot off the floor, in closed or sealed containers. Little puddles of water give rats plenty to drink, so all leaks must be fixed. They can chew through wood, wallboard, plaster, even some concrete to get to food. They can squeeze into your home through a space around a pipe or under the door, through a hole in a screen or the floor, or through a gap between a window and a window frame. Rats have lots of babies.