Rodents
Norway Rat
The Norway rat is large and robust, weighing in at about seven to 18 ounces. It has blunt snout, small ears covered with short hairs, brown shaggy fur and belly that is gray to yellowish white in colour. It is found throughout Canada.
House Mouse
The house mouse is small, slender and weighs only about 0.4 to one ounce. It has a pointed snout, large ears with hair, and its fur is greyish to light brown on top, light brown(now white) on the underside, with scales showing on it’s tail. It can be found throughout Canada.
Rodents spread disease, damage structures and contaminate food and feed. Rodents damage one-fifth of the world’s food crop each year. One pair of rats shed more than one milion body hairs each year and a single rat leaves approximately 25000 droppings in a year.
Rodents Transmit Murine typhus fever, rat bite fever, saimonellas or bacterial food poisoning, weils disease or leptospirosis and trichinosis, melioidosid, brucellosis, tuberculosis, pasteurellosis, rickettsial diseases, and viral diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease. Norway rats can also carry the rabies virus.
Primarily nocturnal in habit and they are very cautious. They do constantly explore their surroundings, they shy away from new objects and changes. They will eat practically anything, they prefer fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Once they find an acceptable/preferred food. Rats tend to eat their fill at one sitting and will return time after time.