What Rats Are in the UK?
WouterThere are several types of rats in the United Kingdom. The most common type is the Brown Rat. It lives in the ground and prefers to burrow. Its ability to climb makes it a very sneaky animal. Black Rats are less common and only come into the UK as stowaways on ships. They carry the same diseases as mice, but are not as big as the Brown Rat.
Shrews are not technically rats, but they look very similar. They have long snouts and are often mistaken for mice. They are commonly found in lawns and gardens, but are rare in Jersey and the Isles of Scilly. These small rodents are classified as insectivores, and they are threatened by habitat loss and predation by American mink.
The black rat arrived in the UK during the Roman era, but they are not common in the UK. Their body shape is slender, and their nose is large and pointed. Only a few species of rats are a threat to a house in the UK. Among the most common are the House Mouse, the Field Mouse, and the Yellow Necked Field Mouse.
Rats are nocturnal animals, and are active throughout the year. While most of them feed at night, they will also take advantage of daylight feeding opportunities. They can cause a problem in the home if left untreated. The British Pest Control Association estimates the rat population in the UK at anywhere between 10.5 million and 120 million. However, there is no reliable way to estimate the exact number, and a recent study by Dr Dave Cowan of the Food and Environment Research Agency estimated that there are up to three to 3.5 million rats in urban environments and up to seven million rats in rural areas.
