Do more rats live in urban areas or wild areas?

Rats can be found in the street, sewer or other places, and it is common to see rats in both urban and rural places. Rats have established themselves near the routes of human migration and they are found in most areas where humans are found. When there are no humans around, rats may live in damp areas like on riverbanks, but the majority are now found in man-made environments like sewage systems.

It is known that cities have many more rats compared to rural areas, but this also will vary from one city to another depending on the living conditions. Brown rats in cities may wander extensively, and it can be around 20m from the nest to the area where they get food. However, they can go to even greater distances when the food gets scarce. Cities that have high moisture, a high poverty rate and aging infrastructure may have a higher number of rats than others. Besides the sewer, rats may live in residential buildings and in alleyways where they can get access to a continuous food source in such an area.

Rats are adaptable and they may live in any place, and even if they live in a home, they will continue to be wild. When they are in a rural area, brown rats may live in open fields, brushy areas and forests. They are nocturnal in nature and they can live in hollowed-out logs or burrows during the day. Some species can stay in a small range area when the food is plentiful. The rats can stay in a garden during the warmer months, but when it is cold, they may have to look for food in a faraway place.

The female rats are able to produce over 60 offspring every year, and cities get overrun in just a few months by rats. In many cities rats have became a nuisance because of their food supply and their lack of sanitation. In the city, rats are found in the sewers, city dumps and basements. The people who have homes that can be accessed easily by rats will have a huge problem in being able to get rid of these rats. To find out if you have a rat infestation, you may see if you have chewed food packages or rat droppings. Domesticated rats may not live in the wild, but they will still act in much the same way that wild rats do.

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