Usually ground living but has ability to climb buildings. As rats are omnivorous they will scavenge any available foodstuffs but prefer cereals and moist fruits. Rats carry a variety of diseases that include salmonella, trichinosis, rat bite fever, murine typhus and weils disease. An average female will have 3-6 litters/year which can contain 7-8 babies. These become sexually mature in 10-12 weeks.
Control of an infestation can be achieved through baiting, contact dusts and trapping. It is essential to control a local brown rat population as the threat of disease and damage caused through gnawing can be extremely costly.