How to Identify Common California Rodents by Their Droppings
December 16th, 2009 by BugGuy
A couple weeks ago we mentioned the roof rat as one of California’s most common pest rodents, but there are others seen quite often including the Norway rat and the house mouse.
Rodents start to head indoors in early winter or when the temperatures start dropping; they move back outside in late spring. During this time of year, you may suspect a rodent infestation. Since rodents often move around at night when everything is quiet, it’s difficult to identify what rodent you have in your house, structure, etc… One of the best ways to properly identify your lurking creature is by taking a look at its droppings…yes, its poop.
Here’s a great visual of the differences between the three droppings.
House mouse droppings are the smallest of the three; their droppings are rod shaped, pointed at the ends and range between 1/8” and a 1/4” inch long.
Droppings from roof rats are spindle shaped, curved and can reach about 1/4” to 1/2” in length.
The droppings from the Norway rat are going to be the largest since the actual rodent is the largest out of the three. On average, Norway rat droppings are capsule shaped, vary between 1/2” to 3/4” in length and have blunt or rounded ends.
Fresh droppings can be a good indicator of a present rat infestation. Newer rodent feces are typically shiny and soft but after a few days the droppings will be dull, even grayish, and will become very brittle.
Note: Always use gloves and take precautions when inspecting or removing rodent droppings.
{photo credit (Norway rat): Losch}
{photo credit (roof rat): michaelpickard}
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