Zoologist says people should learn to live with rats

People should learn to live with rats because eliminating them completely is practically impossible, zoologist Joosep Sarapuu told ERR’s Vikerraadio programme “Ökoskoop”. He advised keeping food in sealed jars and closing all gaps and openings around buildings.

“Rats are always one step ahead of people,” said Sarapuu, a zoologist at a natural history museum. He said rats are cautious around new objects, things and smells, and live in territorial groups of 10 to 20 adults together with their young.

When the population in one place becomes too dense, young rats leave to find a new habitat. They usually do not travel far and tend to settle in a neighbouring building. Cities offer plenty of food, while homes provide rats with good shelter during the cold season.

According to Sarapuu, rats are capable of learning. If a lower-ranking rat tries a trap, older rats higher in the hierarchy do not immediately follow. They can understand that the trap may harm them.

Mice and rats generally do not live together because mice are smaller and weaker. “A rat does not want such competitors,” Sarapuu said, adding that rats are hostile even towards members of other groups and would kill a mouse.

Food should be stored in sealable jars rather than boxes that rats can easily reach. All gaps and openings around a house should be closed wherever possible, Sarapuu said. Even very small openings can allow mice and rats inside, while mice can enter through a gap the size of a 10-cent coin.

Rats and house mice need to spend the winter near people because they cannot survive elsewhere. Once they have settled in a human dwelling, getting rid of them is very difficult because they are cautious and reproduce quickly, Sarapuu said.