Rat Droppings: How to Identify Them and What to Do

Size and shape

Norway rats, the rat found in Wichita, leave droppings about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. They are thick, often slightly curved, and have blunt ends.

Compare that with:

• Mouse droppings: 1/8 to 1/4 inch, thin, pointed at one or both ends
• Squirrel droppings: similar in size to rat droppings but usually rounder at the ends and often lighter in color
• Cockroach droppings: tiny dark specks or smears, not pellets
• Bat droppings: crumble into powder when pressed, usually piled under a roost

A photo with a coin for scale helps a technician confirm what you have.

Fresh or old

Fresh droppings are dark and moist-looking, sometimes shiny. Older ones turn dull, gray and dry, and they crumble. If you clean an area and new droppings show up within a day or two, rats are still active there.

Fresh droppings near food, along garage walls or in a crawl space mean you should act now. Old, dry droppings in an attic or shed may be left from a past problem, but check for other recent signs like fresh gnawing or new burrows before deciding.

Where rat droppings show up in Wichita homes

Norway rats stay low. Look:

• Along garage walls, especially behind stored items and near pet food or birdseed
• In crawl spaces, along the sill plate and near ducts and pipes
• In basements, along walls and near floor drains
• In sheds and detached garages
• Under decks, along fences and near burrow openings in the yard

Rats tend to leave droppings in groups along the routes they use every night. A line of droppings along a wall marks a runway, which is the right place for a trap.

How to clean up rat droppings safely

The CDC advises against sweeping or vacuuming droppings, urine or nests because it can stir up germs. Instead:

• Wear rubber or plastic gloves
• Soak the droppings with a disinfectant or a fresh mix of 1.5 cups of bleach in 1 gallon of water
• Let it sit for 5 minutes or the time on the product label
• Wipe up with paper towels and put them in a covered trash can
• Mop or wipe the surface with disinfectant
• Wash gloved hands, take off the gloves, then wash your hands with soap and warm water

For a closed shed or garage, open doors and windows for 30 minutes before you start. For heavy contamination, consider professional droppings cleanup.

Droppings in sheds, barns and feed rooms

On larger lots around Wichita, like those near Valley Center, Kechi, Goddard and Andover, rat droppings often turn up first in outbuildings. Feed rooms, chicken coops, horse barns and shops with stored grain or seed give Norway rats steady food, and the droppings pile up along walls and under pallets.

In those spaces, look at feed bins and bags for chewed corners, check under stored equipment and look for burrows along the outside walls. Do not sweep a barn floor covered in droppings. Wet it down with disinfectant first, the same way you would inside the house.

If you also find small droppings in those buildings, deer mice may be there too, which calls for extra care during cleanup.

What droppings tell you about next steps

A few droppings in one spot may mean a rat passing through. Droppings in several places, fresh ones every day or droppings with gnawing and burrows mean rats are living on the property.

Either way, find out how they are getting in. The how to get rid of rats article lays out the steps, and the rat control page explains what a provider does.

Questions Wichita readers ask

Keep reading

• Mouse Droppings: What They Look Like and How to Clean Them Up

  Mouse droppings are 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, like a grain of rice with pointed ends. Here is how to identify them, read what they mean and clean them up without sweeping.

• How to Get Rid of Rats in Wichita

  Wichita rats are Norway rats that burrow near the house. Getting rid of them means taking away food and cover, trapping along their runways and sealing the gaps they use.

• Rodent Diseases in Kansas: Hantavirus, Leptospirosis and Rat-Bite Fever

  Hantavirus is present in Kansas but rare, with 0 to 2 cases a year. Leptospirosis and rat-bite fever also come from rodents. Safe cleanup and quick medical care are the main defenses.

• All rat and mouse articles
• Wichita rules and cost guides