Roof Rat Burrows

The last way to kill a rat is to use the protection of the burrow against it.

Roof rat burrows.

Rats create underground pathways or burrows from their nest to food sources and to escape predators. If residents find a rat burrow near the home it most likely belongs to a norway rat not a roof rat. Indoors roof rats like to build nests in the upper areas of the home where it s kept warm by rising heat. Check along walls and grass for runways.

These burrows are often located under bushes or other types of dense vegetation. As they can gnaw at and chew through metal pipes and plastic they can damage the structure of your house which might take a lot of effort and financial investment to fix. The entrance will be roughly 2 4 inches in diameter and smooth and compacted from the rodents going in and out of the burrow. The norway rat digs tunnels to nest because it prefers to be on ground level.

Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and 1 or 2 exit holes away from the main entrance. As the dry ice melts it releases large volumes of carbon dioxide which fills the burrow and suffocates the rats. They prefer to build nests among tree branches or use utility lines to access a roof or attic. Suffocation agents for rats.

Outdoors you can find roof rats nesting in trees shrubs wood piles and dense vegetation. Major cities like chicago have started utilizing this approach by filling the entrance of the burrow with dry ice. However in a hot dry environment roof rats burrow in shallow cavities beneath concrete slabs sidewalks or tree roots. Unlike other rat species roof rats are also good climbers and build nests above ground not underground in burrows.