Norway Rat Control: How To Get Rid of Norway Rats

This page is a general Norway Rat control guide. Using the products and methods suggested you will get control of Norway Rats. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% control of Norway Rats.

Nothing can frighten a homeowner or business owner more than the sight of a rat scurrying around indoors. One such rodent is the disgusting Norway rat, which is prevalent across the United States but is most concentrated around the coastal areas.  

Norway Rats are also known as sewer rats and are large, burrowing rodents larger than another common rat known as the Roof Rat. These rats can be a particularly major pest to have in the home as they are insatiable eaters that will gnaw non-stop and cause significant damage to structures.

Norway Rats are also known to spread troubling diseases such as plague, jaundice, rat-bite fever, and others. In addition, Norway Rats can contaminate food and introduce fleas into a home. Norway rats also can create large litters that can get very out of control if there is no intervention.

If you have Norway rats invading your home, control measures should be a top priority. By following our DIY guide below, you will be equipped with all the expert knowledge and product recommendations you need to eliminate these rodents.

Identification 

Before you can carry out a treatment approach, it is important to properly identify the invading rodent as a Norway Rat. Misidentification may result in using the wrong treatment methods which will be ineffective, and as a result, be a waste of your time and money. Here are some traits to watch out for to correctly identify the Norway Rat.

• Norway rats are generally bulky in size and are covered with shaggy brown or grey-colored fur with gray to grayish brown underbellies. They have small ears and eyes and long hairless tails.
• Norway rats also weigh between 7 to 18 ounces and reach lengths of about 16 inches – their tails alone may measure more than 8 inches.
• Norway Rats are incredibly damaging to structures. They can chew their way into walls, bite into water pipes and electrical wiring (which might even create house fires). They can also bring along fleas and ticks that can be transferred on to pets, and they also serious health hazards to humans. 

Use the description and image above to help you with proper identification of Norway Rats, if you are not totally sure, contact us and we will try to assist you in identifying your rodent problem.

Inspection

Once you have properly identified the rodent invasion to be Norway Rats, you can then move forward with an inspection to find out their harborage areas and to get an idea of where they are active as well as the severity of the infestation. 

Where To Inspect

Start your inspection indoors. Search inside kitchens, garages, attics, and basements. In the kitchen search behind and around appliances, in floor level cabinets, pantries, and where food goods are stored. Although Norway Rats will mainly stay and will be found close the ground at floor level, inspect attics and basements, search behind clutter and storage items look around baseboards.

To find rats in garages, move clutter and storage items around, search at floor level in baseboards and possible entry points into the home.

Outdoors, search in your front lawn and in your backyard, search around yard debris, leaf litter, woodpiles, logs, rocks, and all around your property.

What To Look For

You're looking for signs of Norway Rat activity. This means looking for feces (which will be 3/4 of an inch long and will have blunt ends) smear marks, chewed openings, foul odors (like urine), fur, and the rodents themselves. In the kitchen, look for food packaging that has been chewed or tampered with.

Look along baseboards. Are there any greasy marks in the baseboards that might also have fur? These are smear marks. At ground level and inside cabinets, shelves, and pantries, look for chewed openings or small openings where Norway Rats are using to travel. At night, listen carefully for chewing sounds or general sounds around your home. And finally, look for droppings in all of these areas, if you find droppings this is a clear indication that you have Norway Rats.

Outdoors look for holes or burrows close to the foundation of the structure. Look for these burrows under yard debris, like leaf litter, woodpiles, logs, rocks, and under general clutter. If you have tall grass look for runways where the grass, vegetation, and mulch has been compacted down. These are runways that the rats are using to move in your property.

If you have found any of these signs of activity, both inside and outside of your property, take note of the places where you found them as this where you will focus your bait and trap treatment.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed Norway Rat activity it is time to begin treatment. Remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

Norway rats enter the structure from the outside, and might even be living outdoors and simply venturing inside your home, so start treatment outdoors using the Solutions Rodent Bait Stations and Eratication Rodent Bait. Indoors we recommend setting snap traps and glue boards to capture and kill invading Norway Rats.

Step 1 - Outdoor Treatment with Eratication

Eratication Rodent Bait Blocks are rodenticide blocks that mimic food but are actually poison. They have a unique bait matrix that will entice to feed again and again on the bait until it kills them. These blocks should be placed in Solutions Rodent Bait Stations. The Solutions Rodent Bait Stations are tamper-proof bait stations that will be used to protect the Eratication Bait Blocks from the weather and from non-targeted wildlife or pets and children.

Before handling any of these products make sure to wear gloves, safety glasses, and a face mask. This is to prevent the rats from smelling your scent on these products which will create bait shyness and might avoid it if they smell your scent on the products.

Start by opening the bait station with the key that comes with the product. Next, insert three Eratication Rodent Bait Blocks on the metal rods found inside the stations, and then close the bait stations. Place the bait station next to a burrow or in areas where you found rat activity.

Use 2 bait stations along with 6 bait blocks in each station. Separate each bait station by at least 15 to 30 feet. If you're dealing with a severe infestation we recommend using more bait stations and more bait blocks.    

Check the stations often and make sure to replace any bait blocks that have been tampered with. If any bait block is chewed or partly eaten you will need to replace it with new bait blocks. Keep replacing bait blocks until there is no longer feeding activity inside the bait stations.

Step 2 - Indoor Treatment with Snap Traps and Rat Glue Boards

Once you have laid out bait outdoors, you can then move indoors and place down traps. It is better to trap indoors and bait outdoors to lessen the risk of an indoor rat consuming lethal bait and then dying somewhere indoors that is hard to get to to retrieve the dead rat. This is why we suggest using either a glue trap like Stick Em Rat Glue Trays or Solutions Easy Set Rat Traps.

Before using these glue trays and rat traps, make sure to wear gloves, safety glasses, and a face mask. This is necessary to prevent from leaving your scent on the traps which might discourage rats from interacting with the traps.

Step 3 - Place Traps Strategically in Attics, Basements and Garages

For the snap traps and glue trays to be effective in capturing the invading Norway Rats, you have to be thoughtful when it comes to the placement. Placing traps out in an open space will make it so Norway Rats don't go anywhere near the trap.

Make sure to place the glue tray near entry points in garages, basements, or attics next to baseboards and against walls, as rodents commonly travel alongside walls. For snap traps, make sure the trigger (or the part that will activate the trap) is closest to the wall. Place a pea-sized drop of peanut butter in the middle of the trigger, to force the rats to make contact with the trap.  

• Trap Placement In Attics: If you performed a thorough inspection, you would have observed where rats have left damage such as chewed wires, gnawed wood, damaged insulation and droppings. Place the traps in these active areas, along any observed runways, near the water heater drip pan, 
• Trap Placement In Basements: Similar to attics, placing traps in the basement will depend on observing active areas where the Norway rats have left evidence such as smudges, gnaw marks, droppings and hair. Key areas will be along walls, crawl spaces, narrow spaces between furniture or boxes, etc.
• Trap Placement in Garages: For rats found in garages, you will want to reduce clutter as much as possible before placing down traps along walls, points of entry, behind storage items, dark secluded corners and other such places where you have observed activity or the rat has left evidence via droppings or damage.

Prevention

Once the Norway Rat threat has been eradicated, you will want to make sure you don't get a repeat infestation. Start by sealing and closing off any potential entry points into your home. Go around the foundation of your structure, and use Stuf-Fit copper mesh or caulk and seal and close off these entry points and holes, slits, or openings where Rats might get access to your home.

Maintain a regular cleaning schedule and make sure to take out the garbage daily, pick up food crumbs and spills, and do not leave water bowls or pet food out at night (both inside and outside your home). If possible store all your food goods inside plastic containers where Norway Rats will have a harder time getting to them.

In the yard, get rid of bird feeders, which will spill and over time provide Norway Rats with a steady supply of food. Clean your yard and get rid of yard debris like leaf litter, woodpiles, logs, rocks, stones, and clutter which might create harborage areas for rats. Get rid of branches that touch the roof of your property, many times rats will use these branches to get access to the roof your structure.

Key Takeaways

What are Norway Rats?

• Norway Rats are large rats known for infesting homes and buildings and creating a health risk with their gnawing and unsanitary habits.
• When left uncontrolled, rats can inflict a lot of damage and may grow their population quickly so swift action must be taken to address an infestation.

How To Get Rid of Norway Rats

• Our top recommendations for treating Norway Rats include using Eratication Bait outdoors inside tamper-proof bait stations and then laying out glue traps or snap traps (or a combination of the two) indoors in strategic areas in your attic, basement or garage.
• The key areas to place traps is where you have observed Norway Rat activity which can be indicated via their urine and droppings as well as any gnaw marks and scratching damage they have inflicted in an area.

Preventing Norway Rat Reinfestation

• Prevent future Norway Rat infestations by sealing off points of entry and maintaining cleanliness in and around the home.