What Do Rats Eat?

Rats are little, but they eat constantly. One way to limit rat population growth is to eliminate their food supply.


Remember Templeton, the surly and self-centered pack rat from "Charlotte's Web"?  He was in ecstasy at the fair because of the opportunity to dig through the trash and eat all the food dropped under the grandstands and in garbage cans.  He gorged himself and at the end of his spree could barely walk.  This depiction was actually fairly accurate. Wild rats are notorious for their ability to eat just about anything, and a lot of it. Your home or business could be just as attractive to a rat as a county fair, if you don't take precautions.  Eliminating rats requires eliminating the food and water supply. 

Rats are not picky when it comes to food.  Sure, they have things that they prefer, but they will eat what they can find to survive.  They all consume grains, and some have a taste for meat and fish.  Roof rats are not so eager to eat meat, but love fruits, melons, candy, and tomatoes.  What else do rats eat?  Seeds, milk, eggs, nuts, snails, and when it gets right down to it, insects, leather, fur, and other rodents.  They can eat 1/3 of their own body weight in a single day.

I get so many requests for rat control in mountain benches.  Over and over again, I have seen literal mazes of little trails worn away in the grass where rats have scurried back and forth to cat food, birdfeeders, garages, cellar doors, fruit trees, garbage cans, on and on.  It's like the rats build up their own little metropolitan area with a highway system and everything.  And if they're in your yard, guess who is running the 24-hour diner. 

Call me right away if you have an animal problem.  I can do an inspection for you, remove the problem animal from your property, and make some recommendations for how to prevent future problems by proper containment of food sources and elimination of access points.  I know rats inside and out; they are such a common problem and can ruin your home or business property and your health.  It is important to act quickly.  Your local animal control does not provide these kinds of services.

I've seen wild rats holed up near livestock feed stores, nut trees, dumpsters, or anywhere food or food waste is stored.  I've seen a wide variety of what rats eat , and they can rip right through paper boxes and plastic bags to get to the goodies.  They will even chew through wood and plastic pipes.  To get rid of rats , it is best to store your pet/animal foods in metal containers, such as a garbage can with a lid.  Just put the entire bag of feed in the garbage can and make sure the lid is always on tight.

A serious problem with rats and mice is that not only will they eat your food and your pets' food, they will also contaminate it.  They leave their droppings and urine everywhere they go, and their fur and excrement is riddled with disease.  Some estimate that rats eat or contaminate as much as 20% of the world's agricultural products.  They bring disease and destruction wherever they go.  In some parts of the world, governments have handed out survival aid to farmers in entire regions because their crops were completely wiped out by rat infestations .  Imagine to what a few would do to the food stored in your home.

Call me and I will tell you more about what I can offer your particular situation. Rat control is part of my business and Allstate Animal Control will go to great lengths to see your animal problem eliminated.  .