# Mouse or baby roof rat?



## alexb5892 (Apr 24, 2019)

I have been hearing some noises in the attic recently, so I have sealed up any entry points to my home as well as set out some traps in certain noisy areas. Recently, one of my traps caught something and I am trying to identify whether this is a baby roof rat or a mouse. I know mice are much easy to control than roof rats, and any help you can give me will be much appreciated! Thanks.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

I don't think it matters you have to terap them all anyway.
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/blog/mousevsrat.html


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

My guess would be the baby rat. Big mice are usually fat or maybe i feed mine too much. But big feet would say rat to me. And being a baby tells you mom and pop will be there somewhere. I had to deal with rats once and they are hard to catch, very shy of traps.

Even though you have sealed what you could find for access points also set some traps outside.

The trap I caught one in was set for almost a month before it took the bait.

Bud


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

I say rat; there’s no hair in the tail. Mice have fuzz or even more hair on their tails, often with tufts on the end.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

What big ears he has. 
I tried googling mice and baby roof rat photos for you but could barely tell difference.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

I'm honestly not sure what the practical difference between mice and rats will be. They do the same things (gnaw and breed prodigiously), and poop all over, spread diseases (sometimes hideous ones), etc.

My experience is that truly getting rid of rodents is like getting rid of sorrow; ain't gonna happen, but you can take reasonable steps to reduce them.

Mice and rats seem to take the same bait, though I guess you'll want a larger trap if you have rats as opposed to mice, though I've had rodents run a continuum of sizes from "small" to "large" and it's not always easy to know how big the optimum trap size is.
@alexb5892, tell us where you are, city/county and state/province, so we'll have a better idea of good practices. Some issues are quite area-specific.

And, welcome to the forum.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

One difference between rats and mice is, mice are stupid. I have caught a dozen mice in the same trap and same location, just new bait. The rats I had to deal with went months between taking the bait and often did just that without tripping the trap. 

Since dealing with either or both critters is a forever project I like to start with just the bait, warms them up so they lose some fear and tells me what they like. As well as where they are. So put out a variety of bait in many locations to see what disappears.

Bud


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