The Norway rat, also known as the brown rat and sewer rat, are robust rodents with coarse brownish and scattered black hairs, gray torat yellowish-white under belly and a naked scaly tail. They weigh about 12 to 16 ounces and are 13” to 18” long as adults, including the tail. Rats typically breed in the spring and fall. The average female has 4 to 6 liters per year with about 6 to 12 young per liter. The young are born within 23 days after mating.
Norway rats could be found in and around homes, garages, sheds, commercial establishments, sewers, alleys, junk yards, fields, landfills and ravines. They can access a structure via a quarter size hole and through a 1/2? gap under a door. They could also gain entry by gnawing, climbing, jumping or even through sewer lines. Once inside, Norway rats usually inhabit the lower floors by nesting inside walls, cluttered storage areas, and underneath equipment/appliances. Noises (squeaks, scurrying, etc.), droppings (about 3/4” long with blunted ends), rub marks, tracks, gnaw marks, and fur are all signs of a rat infestation.
Outside, Norway rats will dig burrows into the ground which are generally 12” to 18” deep and about 3’ long. There are typically distinct paths leading to the burrow opening. Since they are great diggers, they could also build their nests inside holes around building foundations, in stream banks, under slabs as well as under piles of wood and other debris.
Norway rats are mainly active at night and will travel 100 to 150 feet from their nest in search of food and water. They are omnivorous, but prefers to feed on proteins like meat, fish, pet food and insects. They will even eat their own young if the need arises. Rats will often hoard food in hidden areas for use when food supplies run short. They require about a 1/2 to 1 ounce of water daily when eating dry foods but need less when moist foods are available.
To make up for their poor eyesight, they have a keen sense of hearing, smell, taste and touch. They constantly explore their environments and are wary of anything new in their environment which makes baiting and trapping rats difficult as they may first avoid any attractants used.

The house mouse is a small rodent with fur ranging in color from brown to gray and a lighter underside. They are about 3” in length,Mouse weighs about 1/2 – 1 ounce and have long tails with circular rows of scales. House mice are prolific breeders and are able to reproduce throughout the year, often producing 6-10 litters (5-7 pups per liter) continuously each year when conditions are favourable.
House mice live in and around homes, apartment buildings, commercial establishments, abandoned buildings, open fields, farms and agricultural lands. During the spring and summer, house mice could be found living far from human establishments. However, the onset of cold weather each fall causes mice to move into structures to seek shelter and food. A mouse running along a building is drawn by warm air and food odors coming from under doors and other openings on the exterior. Mice have a strong sense of hearing, smell, taste, touch and use their whiskers to feel air movements and surface textures. All they need is about a 1/4” opening to access a structure.
Once inside, mice often establish themselves near food storage and food preparation areas, closets, cabinet bases or cluttered areas. They are excellent climbers and will climb electrical or plumbing lines within the walls and even nest within suspended ceilings. They can move along wires, cables, conduit or rope and can jump vertically 12” as well as survive an 8’ fall. Sounds such as gnawing, climbing in walls, running/scratching the upper surface of ceilings, squeaks and damage to storage food are common indicators of mice infestations. Another common sign is the presence of their droppings which are about 1/4? long, dark and pointed at both ends.