General Information

The Arcadia Neighbor to Neighbor Campaign was established to address the problem of the non indigenous roof rats that have appeared in the Arcadia area. The primary goals are:

• Promote a community wide volunteer program.
• Provide information to Arcadia residents and the Phoenix area.
• Survey residents of immediate problem and track problem long term.
• Encourage residents to pick up their citrus to eliminate a water and food source.
• Clean up landscape to reduce shelter and paths of travel of the roof rats.
• Home proofing to restrict rodents from inhabiting and producing young in the resident's attics.
• Recommendations for eradication.
• Production, distribution, and instruction of a resident's bait station.

There are several steps homeowners can and should take to prevent and minimize the rodent's length of stay and possible ensuing damage:

• Home Proofing: Seal House and Attic
• Landscape Care: Trim and manicure trees and bushes.
• Food & Water Sources: Glean fruit trees, secure pet food and water sources.
• Protection & Eradication: See our recommended methods.
• Work with Neighbors: All of us helping each other and working together will clear our neighborhoods of this common enemy.

The roof rat is dark brown to black in color and measures 13 to 18 inches in length including tail. They weigh 5-9 ounces, are slender, and their ears are large and nearly hairless. Their droppings are long and cylindrical.

Nesting Requirements
Roof rats nest outside in trees, woodpiles and debris, and in dense vegetation. Inside, roof rats prefer to nest in the upper levels of a building in the attic and ceiling.

Food Preferences
Roof rats have more vegetarian preferences. Typical food is fresh fruit, plant material, nuts and seeds, vegetables and tree bark.

Roof rat didn't just gnaw a hole in this dishwasher drain line, it chewed the entire length.

Medical Importance
Rats can spread disease. Sometimes they transmit disease directly by contaminating food with their urine or feces or by biting people. Indirectly, they transmit by infecting as when fleas bite a disease-infected rat, then a person or other animal.

Potential Damage
Rat burrows can cause structural damage by undermining the foundations of buildings, roads and walkways, can cause damage by gnawing, damaging plastic and lead pipes, door frames, upholstery, and electric wires, and can cause damage through the destruction and contamination of stored foods.

Rat Proofing

• Keep garbage containers tightly covered.
• Store bulk foods in sealed, rat-proof container.
• Do not leave pet food out, especially overnight.
• Promptly pick up any fallen fruit from citrus trees, etc.
• Harvest your citrus crops promptly and completely.

Oleanders Oleanders are the most common denominator for roof rats; the dark green hedge provides a safe refuge and an ideal path of travel. In Phoenix summers when attic temperatures rise over 130 degrees, roof rats find oleanders a cool place to nest. Roof rats can often be heard walking through the oleander as they travel over the dry leaves.

Path of Travel: Power, telephone and cable lines Block walls and fences Tree to tree Oleanders

Please download and print this one sheet Word document which summarizes the roof rat problem and how to treat it.	Please also download this Roof Rat Control Article for Neighborhood Newsletters.
To download the above articles, right-click on the links and choose "Save Target As" then select an area on your hard drive or desktop to save to.