Recognize brown rat droppings: this is what it looks like

Brown rats are one of the most common rat species in Europe. If you suspect that the rodents have also taken up residence in your area, rat droppings are the most striking evidence of an infestation. We'll tell you here how to recognize brown rat droppings.

Recognize brown rats

Brown rats (rattus norvegicus) are the original form of today's laboratory and house rats (rattus rattus). You can recognize them by the following features:

• brown to gray fur
• Length: 19 - 30 cm (head-torso)
• Tail length: 13-32 cm tail length
• Weight: up to 500 g

This means that they are overall slightly larger than their relatives, but have a shorter tail, smaller ears and a less pointed snout. Brown rats need access to water and therefore prefer to live in moist habitats such as sewers, streams or damp holes in the ground. Due to the destruction of their natural habitats, however, they are increasingly being pushed into the territory of the house rats and thus into the domestic environment.

Recognize brown rat droppings - what does it look like?

If you find feces in your home, it is worth taking a closer look to identify the animal. In particular, it is important to differentiate between brown rats and house rats. House rats are considered an endangered species and are under special protection. Brown rats, on the other hand, can, if gentler methods remain unsuccessful, can also be eliminated with a snap trap as a last resort. To correctly identify brown rat droppings, take a look at our table:

Brown rat droppings	House rat droppings
tapering spindle-shaped (see. Rice grain)	banana-shaped
1 - 3 cm long	0.5 - 2 cm long
rather broad and thick	rather long and thin
lies together in groups	widely scattered in the house
black	dark brown
irregular	evenly

Brown rats leave their excrement in the entire area, but contact is very likely, especially in basement rooms. There is a special need for action if the droppings are still fresh or if you find rat droppings of different sizes, because this indicates an increase in the population. Consult the health department or a pest controller.

tip: Dried manure can be pierced with a wooden stick, while fresh manure is soft, shiny and dark and sticks to the wood.

Dangers of brown rat droppings

When finding feces, one should not panic at first. It's entirely possible that a rat just made its way through your home. Nevertheless, caution should be exercised: the faeces of the animals transmit more than 100 diseases, among others

• Typhus
• rabies
• tuberculosis
• cholera
• Hantavirus
• Animal diseases like swine fever

Rat droppings contaminate food and feed and pose a threat to humans. For this reason, there is already an urgent suspicion of rats, according to the regulatory authority ordinance on rat control.

Elimination of brown rat droppings and odor

If you have identified rat excrement in your area, it is therefore important to remove it as soon as possible. Due to the high risk of infection, the removal goes far beyond conventional cleaning, as you can see from our instructions:

• extensive ventilation of the room
• Put on a protective mask and hygienic gloves
• Removal of excrement and small excrement with a broom and shovel
• Dispose of the waste in a well sealed garbage bag
• Allow hot water with all-purpose cleaner to act on the affected area of ​​the floor for 20 minutes
• Wipe and disinfect the floor
• renewed cleaning with water and all-purpose cleaner
• use chlorine bleach to neutralize odors
• Thoroughly clean used equipment

In a modified form, the list also applies to the removal of brown rat droppings from other surfaces. In the garden, the manure can simply be gouged out and removed with a spade.

Note: During removal, the feces should never come into contact with the skin or fecal particles should be inhaled, as diseases can be transmitted in this way.

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