Phoenix Roof Rat Problems Continue To Grow

Ever since the first sign of the roof rat in Arizona, there has been damage and a growing rodent problem in Phoenix.  The roof rat became infamous in the early 1990s, invading the Phoenix neighborhood known as Arcadia.  Nearly twenty years later, Phoenix’s rat problem has grown with a damage toll in the millions of dollars to homeowners, businesses, and local governments.  Roof rats are no longer a problem just for residents of Arcadia. Roof rat damage is being seen all over Phoenix.

The roof rat began infesting homes within Arcadia because the area provides rodents with endless amounts of citrus, plenty of fresh water, and many homes with easily accessible roofs.  The plentiful nourishment and shelter has allowed the roof rat to breed often and grow to very large numbers.  This growth has created competition for food, space, and safety.  The roof rat has continued to seek new shelter, water, and food sources as their population has increased.  This means that other Phoenix neighborhoods have begun seeing signs of Arizona’s roof rats as well.

While Arcadia provides an ideal habitat for Arizona’s roof rats, there are numerous Phoenix neighborhoods that have proven to be desirable to the pesky and destructive creatures.  With ample amounts of citrus, flowering plants, succulents, insects, and swimming pools, many other cities within the Phoenix metropolitan area have seen signs of these rodents.  Roof rats have made a presence in the Biltmore, South Phoenix, Tempe, South and North Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the Fountain Hills communities.

Having a proximity to Arcadia, the stately Biltmore estates are also home to citrus crops and have provided an excellent ecosystem for the roof rat to maintain successful breeding and growth.  To the north, Paradise Valley has become home to a large and growing population of Arizona’s most destructive roof rats.  In 2007 and 2008, Paradise Valley had a greater amount of roof rat damage to homes than in Arcadia.  Paradise Valley is known for its large sprawling homes, which are often lined with citrus, cactus, and lush landscaping—all of which provide the resources necessary for a growth of rodents.  Paradise Valley’s rodents cause extensive damage to homes, as they can infest in very large numbers.  With a heavily insulated attic, a homeowner may not even hear or see any the destructive signs of roof rats until they have a substantial rat infestation.

The roof rat will use the attic or crawl space of a home to come and go from the outside where they will walk on the framing, drywall, HVAC equipment, plumbing lines, and the insulation.  When a roof rat walks directly on the drywall or on other solid surfaces a homeowner is quickly alerted to the presence of a rodent in the home.  However, when a roof rat enters a very well insulated home they can travel for many days, weeks, months, and even years before being detected by a Phoenix homeowner.  The Arizona roof rat will tunnel through the insulation; walk on the soft surface, as well as over other insulated spaces never giving any audible clues of the presence of a rodent infestation.  Any homeowner could be facing a roof rat problem and not even know about it until the Arizona rodent has done costly and annoying damage to your Phoenix home.

It is often a surprise to the residents of Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise valley, and Fountain Hills that the roof rat has begun invading these neighborhoods.  A common misconception is that roof rats are a problem Arcadia faces alone.  As the Phoenix roof rat has grown in population, however, they have spread beyond the boundaries of the Arcadia section of Phoenix.  This means that the roof rat has begun infesting many more neighborhoods in Phoenix.  Roof rats are drawn to areas with overhead power lines, cable lines and telephone lines.  The overhead lines allow roof rats to travel great distances undetected by both humans and their natural predators.  This allows the roof rat to move into new neighborhoods to begin breeding and searching for additional food sources.  These rodents also seek water, which most neighborhoods offer by the way of swimming pools, irrigation lines, and from the citrus fruit growing in the area.

There has been no scientific research or ecological studies performed to determine exactly how many roof rats are making Phoenix their home.  What is clear is that the Arizona rodents prefer the Phoenix lifestyle, have plentiful food sources, and have found great success in breeding and growing their population.  The result is a costly and annoying nuisance to the homeowners and residents of Phoenix.  Arcadia has only learned to cope with roof rats, while many Phoenix neighborhoods are facing the roof rat for the very first time.  There is no end to the roof rat’s destructive nature in sight.