Where Do Rats Go During Winter?

Rodents like rats and mice are found in both urban and rural areas. In contrast to the summer and spring, rats behave differently in the winter because they largely procreate and look for food and shelter in this season.

Learn more about what rats search for in shelter and what you can do if rats decide to spend the winter in your home by reading on. Let’s get started!

What Are The Hiding Spots For Rats In Winters?

If rats have excelled at anything, it is adjusting to living with people. According to a study published in the journal Significance, rat populations in big cities like New York are thought to number somewhere around 2 million.

This illustrates how cunning and adept rats are at blending into urban environments.

All the locations listed below offer protection to rats from the wind and rain, a safe location to store food, and a place for them to reside in small colonies.

Sheds And Barns

Rats will continue to reside in man-made structures, particularly barns, even in less urban areas. If left unchecked, rats can easily gather in barns and make it through the winter.

Rats can also live safely in any shed; depending on what is kept there, the shed may offer food for the rodents.

Rats may even breed in heated barns and sheds, unlike those left outside in the cold. This is because heated barns and sheds provide such a safe environment. The problem will only get worse as the number of rats on your property rises.

Basements

Rats may also spend the winter and possibly the entire year in the basement of your home. Rats have the benefit of being able to burrow through cracks in pipes and windows to enter your basement, where they can locate anything they need because they are underground.

Rats are particularly prone to entering unfinished basements and locating a hiding place in a corner. In the winter, basements may be cooler than the rest of your home, but they are still far warmer than the outside.

Attics

Attics are typically used for storage; people rarely inspect them for pests or remember what’s up there. Rats can easily go unnoticed throughout winter since attics are so secluded. However, they will undoubtedly make a lot of noise as they scamper around, making them easier to spot.

Attics provide a lot of warmth and protection from the elements. This means that, if left unchecked, rat colonies can swiftly grow in the attic.

Like any other part of your house, the attic is a desirable location for rats to spend the winter. But because of the diseases that rats spread, it poses a significant risk of infecting you and your family.

Garage

Rats have enough places to hide in the typical garage. Depending on what is kept in the garage, they might have access to food and materials for nesting, and they might go undetected for the winter.

Make sure to search the garage for any indicators of rats, such as gnawing marks, rat droppings, or any movements or scratching noises.

The DC Health Services suggests using metal or heavy-duty plastic cans with tight-fitting lids to prevent rats from burrowing through your rubbish in the garage.

Sewers

Sewers offer rats a safe home in an urban environment. One of the places where rats are most likely to be year-round is probably sewers. Rats find shelter in sewers, making them the perfect place for them to live.

Sewers are well protected against the winter cold since they are underground and have good insulation.

Rats have a very small number of predators that may enter sewers, and they have access to a large range of food alternatives.

Additionally, rats do well in semi-aquatic habitats. Rats can swim well, enabling them to easily travel sewer systems and even use the pipes to infiltrate your home.

Caves

Rats will pick a cave system as their winter residence since it protects them from the weather and requires little work.

Moreover, spending less time looking for or making a place to dwell frees up energy that may be used to find food and accumulate supplies for the winter.

In a vast cave system, enormous colonies of between a few and hundreds or perhaps thousand can live. Any cave system can give rats a haven to withstand the chilly winter climates and is filled with resources akin to those found in a sewer system.

Tree Hollows

The natural shelter we’ll discuss in this list is a tree hollow, which can only hold a tiny colony of rats. Although the size of tree hollows can vary, rarely would you ever observe more than a dozen or so rats living there at once.

Rats love to build tiny nests in tree hollows because they are high and protected from flooding from snowmelt or rain.

Additionally, trees can provide food for rats on or around them, which is crucial for any rodent that hopes to survive the winter. Stockpiling food won’t keep rats from foraging partway through the winter, and trees may produce seeds or nuts that make for an easy snack.

Burrows

Rats are proficient burrowers in addition to good swimmers. In natural settings, they can dig their winter residences beneath logs, rocks, and other constructions.

In addition to shelter, rats can borrow for various reasons, such as to find food or build a nest. So, this is the least likely alternative for rats to survive the winter. They frequently emerge to look for food and, if they find it, relocate to a better shelter.

How Can I Keep Rats Out This Winter?

Rats can occasionally go unnoticed for a very long time since they are nocturnal and highly stealthy. You might not even be aware that you are living with them. Here are some tips for preventing rat infestations:

• Keep your home and property tidy and organized. Rats use chaos to their advantage to discover hiding spots.
• Use closed compost piles only.
• Regular garbage can emptying and making sure the lid is always tightly closed.
• Food for chickens should be kept in airtight containers.
• If you are a pet parent, only give them food when they are ready to consume it and only leave enough for one meal.
• If you’ve detected mouse activity indoors, plant mint on your property and give it a peppermint oil rub.
• Having a cat as a pet can serve as a deterrent.
• Purchase trustworthy, humane mouse traps.
• To cope with a significant infestation, get a qualified exterminator.

Final Word

I hope this post has given you a better understanding of how winter rats behave and how you might have to deal with them all year round as a problem.

The easiest approach to ensure that rats stay out of your home is to pay attention to the little things. Search for any potential openings, no matter how minor, and adopt strong organizing and cleaning practices.

Even the most determined rats won’t bother you this winter if you make the house as inhospitable and unpleasant as possible.