Ehrlich's deBugged Blog
Home  /  Pest Control Tips  /  5 Strange Rat Facts
Rat with the title "5 Strange Rat Facts"
30 September 2013

5 Strange Rat Facts

Written by Stephen E. Doyle
Avatar
Pest Control Tips Ehrlich, pest control, rats, rodents 3 Comments

5 Strange Rat FactsHalloween is but a few weeks away. But that doesn’t mean that tales of the absurd and twisted should wait until the night of ghouls and groans. It is time to endure some rat-tastic tales of beady eyes and scaly tails that will be sure to leave your skin crawling at the mere sound of rats gnawing in the night, disturbing your sleep as the rats creep…

We’ve compiled 5 seriously strange rat facts for you to share with your friends. 

1. Redefining Family

Baby Rats

Rats are the largest single group of mammals in the animal kingdom. A good deal of that is the result of their frenzied breeding. It is not uncommon for a mother rat to copulate with her son or for siblings to do the deed. People with pet rats should take precautions and separate the males from the females from the mother soon after weaning to prevent more mating.

Mother rats will cannibalize their young in certain instances. It is believed that mother rats feed on their weaker offspring to conserve the additional energy that would be required to care for them.

2. Rats On The Menu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5mkYcQmVSA

Rats are known vectors of such diseases like typhus, salmonellosis, trichinosis and rat-bite fever, to name a few. But in certain Asian countries, rat is practically a staple of regular diets. Street vendors in Thailand sell roasted and uncooked rat to passersby on the street.

Vietnamese and Cambodian tourists can enjoy barbecued rat, which is reported to have a slightly stringier consistency than chicken. It is also reported that chefs only cook rats captured in the wild rather than the dirtier urban variety which are more likely to be disease-laden vectors.

3. Pantry Invaders

Rats With Cheese

It is estimated that rats nibble and gnaw away at one-fifth of global food supply annually, making them significant contributors to famine, as well as $19 billion in damaged goods.

According to Nancy Troyano, PhD entomologist at Ehrlich, “rats anatomy allows them to wriggle into spaces as small as a quarter.” Since rats get into food so often, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration actually allows a set amount of rat droppings in commercial food products.

4. Horrifically Huge

Scientists stumbled upon a new giant rat species while conducting research in Papua, New Guinea in 2007. Unlike the skittish rats commonly found in urban areas, the Mallomys rat repeatedly approached the scientists camp during their stay.

This would be akin to a possum ambling up to you, as the Mallomys rat can grow to approximately six pounds, roughly five times larger than the average city rat.

5. Worshipping Rats

At the Karni Mata Temple in Deshoke, India, rats are revered. The temple, built in the early 20th century, was named after the Hindu rat goddess, Karni Mata. At least 20,000 rats reside in the temple. Devout worshippers of the rats visit the temple in the hope of receiving the rodents’ blessings.

Some signs of good fortune are eating food nibbled on by a temple rat, having a rat run across one’s feet and seeing a rare white rat.

Keeping your Home Rat-Free

Be sure to seal around those windows, doors and holes in your floors. Otherwise, this Halloween season rats may enter your home by the scores. You may fidget and  shudder at the mere thought of things that scratch and squeal in the night.

What was that scratching and tapping in the attic you ask? Wait…do not panic just assume the preventative task.  Take precautions right now and spare yourself the fright of these creepy things that crawl in the night.

Contact Ehrlich straightway for rat prevention expertise! 

Which strange rat fact is your favorite? Do you know any other interesting facts? Share below in the comments! 

 

Avatar
Stephen E. Doyle

I am a Professional Writing major at Penn State University (Berks Campus). I will graduate in May 2014. I have finally decided to pursue my lifelong love of writing via a career change. I am a fulltime college student, fulltime father of two wonderful boys- 8 years and 5 months- and an avid reader of noir fiction, historical fiction and enjoy the occasional biography. I am also a freelance writer enjoying my summer internship with Rentokil (Ehrlich) in Reading, Pennsylvania as a marketing intern primarily writing for the blog sites for Rentokil and Ambius as well as content for the Rentokil (Ehrlich) website. I freelance for The Reading Eagle newspaper (Berks County, Pa) and I write for the Home Builders Association's award winning bi-monthly magazine, 'At Home In Berks'. A few of my hobbies are writing, watching and playing soccer with my 8 year-old son, watching my 8 year-old son play soccer, reading, watching old films (Kurosawa, Melville, Dasin, Wim Wenders, etc.), cooking and weekend jaunts to New York City.

Related Posts

  • Mother And Daughter Playing in Garden

    6 tips for outdoor living, pest-free!

    July 6, 2020
  • wasp nest in house window

    Take back your home from stinging insects

    March 23, 2020
  • 2020 pest predictions

    6 pest predictions for 2020

    December 5, 2019
  • family sitting by the window

    Protect your home from winter pests

    November 18, 2019

3 Comments

  1. Pingback: Can Rats Dream of the Future?
  2. Pingback: Rats Are Ticklish - deBugged
  3. Pingback: Did You Know Rats are Ticklish? - Ehrlich's deBugged Blog

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

COVID-19 disinfection services

Ehrlich’s disinfection solutions can help businesses deal with the effects of coronavirus.

Protects your business against infectious bacteria, viruses and disease.

Targeted disinfection solutions including ULV fogging and touchpoint cleaning.

A tailored service delivered in a safe, discreet and legally compliant manner.

Find out more

Need some advice?

Talk to one of our experts:

Give us a call

(888) 984-0186

Subscribe to the deBugged blog


Categories

  • Countries
  • Day in the Life
  • Debugged – the lighter side of pest control
  • Mythbusters
  • Pest Control Tips
  • Pest Profile
  • Pests in the Headlines

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Find Us on LinkedIn

Ehrlich Pest Control

As Your Local Pest Control Experts, Ehrlich has been providing expert pest control services to homeowners and businesses since 1928. Ehrlich provides both residential and commercial pest control through a network of 40 plus community based offices.

Reading. PA 3,500+ employees

© 2018 Rentokil Initial plc and subject to the conditions in the Legal Statement.

  • Current News
  • Pestaurant
  • Noises in the Attic
  • Insect Stings
  • Top 10 House Pests
  • Pestfree365 - Yearly Protection
  • Pest Proofing
  • About Ehrlich
  • Our Brands
  • Company Information
  • Green Pest Control
  • Technical Expertise
  • Careers
  • Legal Statement
  • Cookie & Privacy Policy
  • Do not sell my personal information
PestNetOnline
PestID
  • www.ambius.com www.ambius.com
  • www.initial.com www.initial.com
  • www.rentokil-steritech.com www.rentokil-steritech.com
  • www.rentokil-initial.com www.rentokil-initial.com