Where to Rats Nest

If you discover a rat nest in your home or workplace, the first step is to remove the rodents and the nest. If possible, open doors and windows to let out the toxins the nest contains. It is also important to avoid stirring up the nesting materials since these could contain disease-causing organisms.

Rats like to create nests close to food sources. They can live on as little as 30 grams of food per day. Because of this, they tend to keep their territory compact, which allows them to constantly search for food. They are also neophobic, meaning that they don’t like to encounter new things within their territory.

Rats have a gestation period of 21-23 days and typically give birth to between eight and 18 pups per litter. Female rats can have as many as five litters a year. Rats’ pups are born with hair and eyes and are dependent on their mother and the nest to survive.

The size of the rat nest will vary according to the number of rats living inside it. A solitary rat will have a smaller nest than a nursing rat. An average sized nest is about the size of a cereal bowl. Rat droppings are dark in color and are the size of large rice grains. They range from nine to fourteen millimeters in length.