Ability to Respond Total:17 / 25Ability to Respond = ( Ease of Response + Tools in Place )
Confidence:High
Confidence Notes:
Impact
Spread
Notes
Score
Spread Rate
Reproduces rapidly, 5-8 per litter and 3 or more litters per year. After a control effort, often rebounds quickly to exceed the former density within a short period of time.
5
Spread Amount
Great adaptability of rats to human-created environments. Once established, their high fertility rate allow them ready breeding and thriving in broad envronments, from residential to industrial to riparian areas.
4
Damage
Notes
Score
Ecological
A commensal rodent with great adaptability readily colonizes throughout human-created environments, often spilling over and causing disturbances to nearby habitats, competing for food in riparian, industrial and residential areas.
4
Agricultural
Roof rats cause significant field and tree crop losses especially citrus, nuts, and avocados. They eat bark and girdle smaller branches.
5
Infrastructure
2
Cultural
0
Health
The roof rat is implicated in the transmission of a number of human diseases, including murine typhus, leptospirosis, salmonellosis (food poisoning), rat-bite fever, and plague, and a number of diseases and ectoparasites of domestic animals.
5
Benefit
Notes
Score
Ecological
0
Agricultural
0
Infrastructure
0
Cultural
0
Health
0
Total
25
Ability to Respond
Ease of Response
Notes
Score
Detection
Damage signs are obvious.
5
Control
0
Tools in Place
Notes
Score
Entry
Species is prohibited from entering state.
5
Control
Differing modes of control can be used to address levels of infestation.
4
Outreach
Local health departments actively encourage the public to practice sanitation and cleaning measures to discourage rat invasions.
