Rodents
Can rats chew through plastic?
Yes. Norway rat and Roof rat chew plastic bins, trash can lids, and cable jackets. A “rodent-proof” plastic tote is marketing. Store pet food and bird seed in metal or thick gasketed containers, and do not treat PVC foam or vinyl weatherstrip as a seal.
What to store food in
Bird seed in a garage is a Norway rat restaurant. Move it to a metal can with a tight lid. Kitchen plastic bins fail if a rat already lives in the wall. The bin is not the nest. The gap behind the stove is.
Species pages
The question is only the field note. Control sequence, legal notes, and identification live on the species article.
Norway rat
Rattus norvegicus
The Norway rat is the heavy, ground-dwelling commensal rat of US cities. It does not “decide” to live in…
Roof rat
Rattus rattus
Roof rats are the athletes of commensal rats: long tail, large ears, a nose that looks sharp compared with a…
House mouse
Mus musculus
House mice succeed because they need almost no water beyond the moisture in food, they fit through a 6 mm…
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