How Do Rats Get In Your Attic?
Ask most people if they have rats in their house and they'll say no, but ask them if they've ever checked their attic and they'll typically have the same response. People who haven't investigated their attics for rodents are often in for a big surprise. Seemingly empty attics often have rodents within them.
It's quite common for mice and rat colonies to thrive in attics long before a homeowner ever becomes aware of them. Likewise, when people do notice rodents in their home they'll often end up tracing the point of entry back to their attic. But why is this such a common phenomenon? How are rodents getting into your attic in the first place?
Rodents in Their Natural Habitat
One of the first things to keep in mind is that any individual rat or mouse is ultimately guided by its instincts. There are a lot of different rodents out there, and each species has a unique approach to survival in the wild. One rat species is especially fond of high places.
The black rat (Rattus rattus) nickname is “roof rat,” and as the name suggests, black rats are very fond of heights. A black rat is an exceptional climber. In nature, it can rapidly move around from limb to limb on any given tree. This talent has given it a huge advantage in human habitats. A black rat can easily make its way from a tree to a roof.
Once the rat has made it to your roof then it's clear what its next step is going to be. A rat can easily sniff out a wide variety of different foods. It will often notice all of the scents coming from your kitchen, and may even notice the warmth coming from your home. A rat loves cozy, warm places almost as much as it loves a good meal — and the prospect of getting both will often lure it into some impressive feats of breaking and entering.
Small Rodents and Smaller Points of Entry
This is the point where you might start to insist there’s no way a rat could find its way into your home. What if your roof doesn't have any obvious points of entry? Even chimneys don't really seem to provide an easy transition between roof and attic. But this line of thinking is a little too centered around a human’s point of view.
Humans usually assume that any animal needs the same type of entry points that we would. But a rat and a human have very different relationships with the world around them. An individual rat might be able to comfortably navigate holes as small as a quarter. Not to mention that rodents are quite happy to work on enlarging any opening. If a rodent notices a tiny opening that suggests food and warmth, it’ll happily gnaw away at it until it can get in.
This all means that you might have a point of entry in your roof and not even be aware of it. In fact, you could have dozens of possible entry points for a determined rodent and never be the wiser without actually investigating the issue. Some areas of your roof could even have holes that won’t let rain or snow into the attic but will serve as a gateway for wildlife — the kind that’s easy for a rat to spot while scuttling from tree to tree.
What Happens When a Rat Makes Its Way Into the Attic?
You might think that a rat won't do much harm if it never ventures out of the attic. However, rodents are often extremely destructive elements within people’s homes. Keep in mind how easily they’re able to enlarge holes to get entry into your attic — they can gnaw their way through almost any material inside your attic as well.
This is especially worrisome given that most people store important, but rarely accessed, items in their attics. An attic is often home to irreplaceable photographs, family documents, and keepsakes — the items most easily destroyed by a rat or mouse. As if that's not enough, a rodent can also gnaw into insulation, pipes, and wiring.
The threat posed by rodents goes far beyond their teeth. Rats in attic spaces also produce a lot of waste. The typical rat will leave about 40–50 fecal droppings per day. A rat in a totally safe environment can live over 1,400 days — which means one rat can create over 70,000 droppings in its lifetime. Now imagine what would happen if it wasn't one rat, but a breeding pair.
A rat litter can consist of up to 12 pups, and those new rats don’t have any concerns about mating with each other. A few rats can easily grow into hundreds. It’s easy to see how this can get out of control fairly quickly.
As rats become more used to the attic they’ll typically venture out into the house as a whole — and this is when most people discover the problem. But they usually don’t know that the infestation is coming from an established colony in their attic.
How to Handle Rodents in the Attic
You can take care of a rodent problem in your attic before it has a chance to grow out of control. First, keep new rodents from making their way in. Carefully look over your attic’s walls, ceiling, and the roofline from the outside. Find and seal any holes that rodents could use as an entry point — do this before you start trapping.
Next, set up traps. Modern traps are both humane and easy to work with. The best traps essentially automate the process while ensuring the rodents aren’t suffering.
But remember: a few rats can multiply at a shockingly fast pace. One pregnant female can turn into dozens or even hundreds before you know it. That’s why it’s important to move quickly once you notice rodents in your attic — seal entry points and set up traps right away so the population can’t explode.