Signs of rat infestation are droppings, or gnawed areas on doors, baseboards, kitchen cabinets, mouldings or other such areas. You may also find books, fabrics, furniture and other such objects to be shredded or chewed and left in piles. Packages of food may be gnawed open or have droppings in them or may simply have the contents eaten. Rats will enter the home through any opening including toilets, so can become quite problematic. Rats build nests out of gnawed clothing and other items and are most active at night when they leave their nests to forage for food and nesting materials.
Rats can be quite agile and can run up almost any vertical surface and also are capable of swimming.
They breed in heavy vegitation as well as other moist conditions, and their long front teeth grow continually. In order to keep their teeth warm down, rats will gnaw on just about anything, even electrical wires. The rats feed primarily on cereal grains, but will also forage and consume butter, meat, fats, sweets and nuts. They have been known to bite humans, especially sleeping infants. Bites can be very dangerous and immediate medical attention should be sought.