What can rats chew through?

Yes, we ask this question often. Especially, when we are the victims of these pesky rodents. Are you one of those people who have become their victim to an extent that you feel as if they are going bring down your home? There are many people in the same boat.

What do they chew through?
Anything really! Name it and they will chew it. They will chew through;

• Wood and timber floors and boards.
• Soft or weak cement flooring
• Any plastics you may have
• Even some pieces of metal, like aluminum sheets

If this is the case, is there something they cannot chew through?
Yes actually.

• They will not chew through stone. Soft bricks however may not be a very good option to go by so do not use bricks thinking they will not be chewed.
• Thick and strong concrete floors are also impossible for them to chew through. The thickness however must be quite thick to avoid them attempting to chew.
• They will also have a hard time chewing through tough metals like steel.

How can they bite chew almost through anything they find?
• Rats have very strong teeth, which rank at 5.5 on the moh’s scale. This essentially means biting through brick is easy work for them since they are harder than iron or copper.
• They will exert a force equal to 24,000 pound on a square inch. That is a lot of force.
• They are really persistent. They will keep at it until they can get through.

In short, if you have rats living within your house, it will take lots of modifications to keep their populations down.

How can one reduce their populations?
• Mess up with their nesting places. First by removing the nests, and second by excluding them.
• Modify your home to ensure they have minimal entrances into your home.
• Ensure you are not giving them a source of food and water. Starve them by ensuring all your food containers are tightly shut to avoid the possibility of them accessing your food.
• Clear bushes outside your home.
• Consider using rat traps, as they are fast and catching them is really difficult.

Finally, since your interest is to stop them from chewing up things in your homes, try and reinforce any of the things they may have started chewing through by using thick courts of concrete or steel.