Rats have long been considered deadly pests. The Center for Disease Control lists nearly a dozen diseases directly linked to rats. Most urban areas battle rat infestations. Rats in New York City are famous for their size and prevalence. If you find signs of an infestation, contact us promptly. We will be able to confirm the species and recommend a course of rodent control treatment.

Rats can serve as zoonotic vectors for certain pathogens and thus spread disease, such as bubonic plague, Lassa fever, leptospirosis, and Hantavirus infection. One New York City resident died in 2017 from Leptospirosis, a disease spread by rat urine. They are also associated with human dermatitis because they are frequently infested with blood feeding rodent mites such as the tropical rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) and spiny rat mite (Laelaps echidnina), which will opportunistically bite and feed on humans, where the condition is known as rat mite dermatitis.

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents belonging to the superfamily Muroidea. “True rats” are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Other members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats.