Kangaroo Rat Removal and Control

Large colonies of kangaroo rats can damage rangelands and grasslands by eating large amounts of seed and vegetation. Here are their habits and how to deal with kangaroo rats. The professional removal and control of these rats is suggested, you can find a rat control professional on the Navigation column on the left, just choose your state and your closest city to find the nearest kangaroo rat control pest professional. or choose the locate a pro tab at the top of th epage to de directed to the same list!

Kangaroo Rat Ecology You Need to Know

Kangaroo rats live in arid and semi-arid areas that retain some vegetation, in the US, Canada, and Mexico. There’s 23 species of kangaroo rats; 14 of those occur in the lower 48 states of the US. They eat seeds, leaves, stems, buds, some fruit, and insects. Like squirrels and moles, they store food in caches and in their underground burrows.
The overall color of the kangaroo rats can be anywhere between pale, sandy yellow, and dark brown, with a white underside and often with white banding across the thighs. Facial markings vary from one species to another. They are 6-8” long including the tufted tail, and have large back legs.
Kangaroo rats are completely nocturnal and often plug their burrow entrances with soil during the day to maintain a more constant temperature and relative humidity.
Kangaroo rats will dig complex aggregations or colonies, but there appears to be little if any social organization among them. Burrows are spaced to allow for adequate food sources within normal travel distances. Spacing of mounds will vary according to abundance of food, but well-defined travel lanes have been observed between neighboring mounds. The extensive burrowing results in a fair amount of soil being brought up and mounded on the ground surface. These mounds can be mistaken for prairie dog mounds.
Both the number of burrows and individuals per acre (ha) can vary greatly depending on locality and time of year. There are usually many more burrow openings than there are rats. They may move nearly a mile (1.6 km) to establish a new home range.
Important: Five kangaroo rat species currently are listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They are found mostly in California and include the Fresno kangaroo rat (D. nitratoides exilis), giant kangaroo rat (D. ingens), Morro Bay kangaroo rat (D. heermanni morroensis), Stephens’ kangaroo rat (D. stephensi including D. cascus), and Tipton kangaroo rat (D. nitratoides nitratoides). Before undertaking any trapping or baiting program, take a moment to check with your state wildlife department, fish and game, or conservation office.

Kangaroo Rat as Pests

Kangaroo rats may damage grain crops grown next to desert or semi-desert wild lands. Kangaroo rats are hoarders, harvesting and storing large quantities of grass and other seeds in the dry months, and they consume some green vegetation in winter and spring. This competition for forage and reduction of seed stock can reduce grazing capacity of drier range in drought periods.

Controlling Kangaroo Rats

As long as the kangaroo rat is not a listed or endangered species, its population can be controlled by property owners if the rats are causing damage to property.
There are no frightening agents, ultrasonic devices, fumigants, or predator scent-mimicking repellents that are effective for controlling kangaroo rats. Save your money for the measures that work: fencing and traps.
To keep kangaroo rats away from relatively small areas, install a sheet-metal barrier 18” (46cm) tall, burying it about 6” (15cm) into the ground to prevent the rats from burrowing under it. For large areas, this is probably too expensive or impractical.
The other effective control tactic is trapping. Before you start a trapping program, however, be sure to check on the laws in your state; for example, it is illegal in California to re-release trapped animals in a different location. Many states require trapping licenses. If you are indeed able to trap kangaroo rats, use small rodent live traps or rat-sized snap traps. Bait them with a mixture of peanut butter and oatmeal, or oatmeal paste. Set the traps in the rats’ heavily-traveled runways, at a right angle to the direction of travel.

Some other types of rodents

Some of the other types of rodents we treat home for is House Mouse Control,Norway Rat Control, Roof Rat Control, and Muskrat Control We offer services for all these types of rodents, we have equipment to handle all types of rodent control that include scopes and other types of optics to look into walls and ceilings to find rats and rat nests. We also offer services that include dead rat removal and rat contaminated insulation removal.

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