Norway Vs Roof Rats

The most common home invading rodents norway rats and roof rats can be identified in several ways.

Norway vs roof rats.

Their 6 inch to 8 1 2 inch tails are dark on top with lighter undersides. Also called the black rat ship rat or old english rat the roof rat measures 6 8 inches long and has a tail that s slightly longer than its body. Another way to differentiate between the two rodents is size. While roof rats excel scaling your roof norway rats are powerful swimmers.

Because norway rats tend to be larger their droppings are also larger about 3 4 inch long whereas roof rat droppings are usually about half an inch. Conspicuously shorter than their combined head and body their tails are carried with comparatively less movement than roof rats. Distinguishing norway rats from roof rats. Color is an easy way to identify roof rats vs.

Roof rats have black fur with pale underbellies while norway rats have brownish gray coats. They re typically found within 100 miles of the gulf coastline or the coastline of the western united states. Norway rats tend to look more well fed and rounder than roof rats with small eyes close set ears and a shorter tail. Adult roof rats measure about eight inches in length while norway rats can be up to ten inches long.

Tail shorter than. While we have focused on roof rats and norway rats as being vermin and unwelcome as unlikely as it may seem these rats do have a positive trait. People refer to rats by many names brown rat vs. Facts about rats roof rat or black rat.

Black rat for example without realizing that many describe the same two species. Due to their genes being 90 equivalent to that of humans medical research on rats has allowed for many significant strides in the study of human diseases.