Why Would a Rat Chew on Wires?



If you have rats in your home, you may have more of a problem than you realized. It is true that these animals can make a ridiculous mess in your house. They love to get into your food boxes and containers trying to find themselves a snack. They will leave their waste along your walls and across your countertops. This is often filled with bacteria and parasites that put you and your family at risk.

They build nests inside your house. A pair of rats can become dozens if not hundreds within a year’s period of time, as these rodents are prolific breeders. They can turn your beautiful dream home into a complete house of nightmares in a very short period of time.

The Problem Gets Worse
The problem with rats is that your concerns do not end there. If you have rats in your home, they can cause so much damage that they can destroy the electrical wiring within your home, causing an outage and potentially causing the fire. It may not seem possible, but it is definitely true.

A Little about Rats
To understand the problem, you have to understand a little bit about rats. If you have ever seen around before, you have likely noticed that they have extremely large teeth at the front of their mouth. These teeth are used to break apart food so that it is easier to get into. Things such as nuts, for example. It is a common look that is found in virtually every rodent.

To keep these teeth sharp, as well as all the rather teeth, rats will chew on hard surfaces. This is usually such things as would or hard plastic. This helps to strengthen the teeth, keeping them well-maintained.

If your rat is in the wall of your house or in the attic, it may be coming across your electrical wiring. Usually, the electrical wiring is coated with a hard plastic or rubber exterior. This presents the perfect material for a rat to chew on to help strengthen its teeth. Before you know it, it has broken its way through the outer coating and has caused the wiring to short out. In some instances, the rat hit the wiring in such a way that it caused an electrical fire.

You Need to Take Action
For some, they simply don’t get themselves too concerned about rats in their house. However, this is a major concern. You are putting you and your family at risk if you are trying to reduce down or eliminate the population of rats inside your house.

Maybe one or two rats won’t cause that much damage, but consider that those two rats can become 50, 60, maybe even 100 within a 12 month period of time. Think about all those rats chewing on your electrical wiring. Before you know it, you may be sitting in a completely dark house day after day.

If your problem is overwhelming, you may need to look at hiring a professional to assist you.

Go back to the Lynwood wildlife removal home page.