If you’ve worked in restaurants or food service, you might’ve heard horror stories about rats jumping into deep fryers. These stories sound crazy (and really gross), but they actually happen more often than you’d think. So why would a rat jump into hot oil? Is this some kind of bizarre suicide, or is something else … Read more

If you’ve ever walked through a city after a heavy rainstorm, you might’ve noticed something unsettling: rats everywhere. They scurry along sidewalks, climb out of sewers, and seem way more visible than usual. So why do rats come out in the rain? What makes them suddenly appear when the weather gets wet? Rats come out … Read more

If you’re thinking about getting a pet rat, one of the first things you’ll hear from experienced rat owners is this: don’t get just one. Rats need company, and that company needs to be another rat, not just you. But why do rats need to be in pairs or groups? Can’t they be happy as … Read more

If you’ve ever owned pet rats or dealt with a rat problem in your home, you might’ve noticed something interesting: rats tend to poop in the same spot over and over again. While they pee everywhere, their pooping habits are actually pretty organized. So why do rats poop in the same spot? Rats poop in … Read more

If you’ve ever kept rats as pets or dealt with a rat infestation, you’ve probably noticed something pretty gross: they pee everywhere. Unlike dogs or cats that can be house-trained, rats seem to just let loose wherever they happen to be. Are rats incontinent? Can they actually control their bladder at all? Rats are not … Read more

New York City and rats go together like pizza and cheese. If you’ve ever walked through the subway or past a pile of garbage bags on the street, you’ve probably seen at least one of these furry creatures scurrying around. But why are there so many rats in New York? What makes this city such … Read more

You work hard on your garden. You plant vegetables, water regularly, and keep things looking nice. Then one day you notice holes dug near your tomato plants. You find droppings by the compost bin. Maybe you even spot a rat darting under the shed at dusk. Suddenly your peaceful garden has become a rat habitat, … Read more

One of the strangest and most disturbing images you can find of rats is what’s called a “rat king.” Multiple rats literally stuck together by their tails, creating a writhing mass of bodies that can’t separate. It looks like something out of a horror movie. Historical accounts describe finding these tangled groups of rats, sometimes … Read more

You hear scratching in the walls at night. You find droppings in the back of a cabinet. Maybe you actually see one dart across the kitchen floor when you flip on the light. Suddenly you’re dealing with rats in your house, and the question hits you hard. Why here? Why your house? You keep things … Read more

Watch a rat move around in dim light and you’ll notice something interesting. Its whiskers are constantly moving, sweeping forward and back like little antennas. They’re not just decorative. Those long, stiff hairs sticking out from their face are doing serious work. Rats use them to gather information about their environment in ways that might … Read more