People keep rats as pets, right? So, what is the big deal about spotting a wild rat? Why are more rats coming into the cities where there were none before? Answers to these questions, as well as reasons why rat removal has to happen, follow.

Domesticated Rats Are Different from Wild Rats

Domesticated rats are often the same kind of rats kept for lab experiments. They have been tamed and are less likely to bite. They are also treated for diseases that are common to wild rats and which can be transmitted to humans. If you spot a wild rat, everyone in the area is at risk for rabies, hanta virus, black plague (yes, it is still real), and a few other very nasty diseases that you would not want invading your neighborhood.

Rats Multiply Quickly

Rats are like roaches; if you see one, there a dozen more in hiding. They begin encroaching on overpopulated cities near bodies of water when the rats cannot support their population in the wild. They look for easy food sources like warehouses filled with people food, garbage cans, and dumpsters. Rats also have scouts,  single rats that go hunting for food sources and report back to nests of other rats, causing them to follow the scout rat to the food source. Soon, you have an uncontrollable infestation that needs to go.

Rats Bite When You Sleep

Rats are not afraid of humans. If rats are hungry enough, they will invade homes. Even if you have all of your food secured and locked up tight, rats will scrounge. When they scrounge, they will attempt to nibble on any living thing to see if it is edible, including your pets and your children's fingers, noses, and toes. If they bite and take a chunk out of any living creature, that pet or person is at high risk for rabies and needs to go to the hospital right away.

Dried Rat Feces Will Kill You

Dried rat feces is notorious for carrying a specific bacteria that will kill you. Ignoring a rat problem because you do not want to kill these pests is setting the stage for your own violent death via rat droppings. Cleaning up rat droppings, especially with bare hands, does not remove the potentially fatal problem. It could make things worse, since rats look for the pheromones left in their droppings and urine to return to the same location and repeat their bathroom process. Wild rats are not "pets" or "friends," and they should be eliminated.

For more information, contact companies like Blackburn Pest Control.