For decades, many people believed that seeing a rat in your house, and of the day, is spiritual. But there are scientific reasons as well. And in this article, we’ll talk about every reason you are seeing rats in your house.
Why Are You Seeing Rats in Your House?
A lot of reasons, actually. Some are scientific. Others are spiritual.
Later, we’ll get to the spiritual part.
But in the science world, experts believe we see rats in our homes because our houses are often filled with things that a rat loves and needs to survive.
In most cases, poor house hygiene, unsealed crevices, warm interiors, dripping pipes, and all kinds of food are among the major things that attract a rat to your house.
Often, you get to see the rat while it’s in search of the attractant.
In 2019, the American Housing Survey reported that about 2.6 million people see rats in their houses often.
That said, let’s talk about why rats are attracted to these things:
1. Food Source.
Rats are omnivorous opportunists.
They can feed on almost anything edible. And we usually stocked our houses with the fresh food they love.
So, in their bid to access the food source, they venture into our homes.
Normally, an outdoor rat such as the brown rat and black rat eats things like fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and even nuts.
But once they get inside, food like rice, oats, other cereals, and pet food becomes their major diet.
However, when a suitable food source is scarce, some indoor rats like the roof rat hunts insects and small mice for food.
So, if you are the type that leaves food like these in the open, you get to see rats in your house.
Now, the problem is that the more rats you have, the higher your environmental health risks. Hence the need for rodent control.
2. Poor House Hygiene.
When your house is unclean, it becomes welcoming to rats and other pests.
This is because rats are quite dirty.
That’s why they naturally live in dirty places like the sewers. And they feed in dirty places like dumpsites as well.
Take, for instance, the Norway rat, aka the brown rat, likes to eat from garbage cans.
So, the dirtier your trash cans, the higher your chance of seeing such rats.
Besides that, dirty pet feeding stations also have pet food remnants.
When left unkempt, rats can trace the scent of these remnants into your house.
Of course, this also doubles your chances of seeing rats in your house.
To reduce your rat population, you can use snap traps or live traps.
Otherwise, you can contact a rat removal or pest disease control agency.
3. Unsealed Crevices
An unsealed crevice (like a door or wall hole) is the most common entry point for rats.
The more the cracks and the larger the rat hole, the bigger your rat problem.
This is because rats like to nest inside wall cracks prolly because it’s warm and safe.
In fact, the cracks also serve as their passageways and escape routes.
And that’s why we often see increased rat activity in such areas.
4. Warm interiors.
Rats, like other mammals, are warm-blooded.
There’s a limit to how much they can bear cold conditions.
So, during frosty weather like winter, rats look for warmth.
This is because rats are more active under warm temperatures. And they need warmth to breed.
This warmth they often get in our houses.
After all, human dwellings are built to provide warmth and comfort. And that’s why we have heat systems like fireplaces.
Interestingly, rats want to enjoy some of this comfort as well. And that’s another reason you are seeing rats in your house often.
5. Dripping Pipes.
Besides food, water is the next best thing a rat would do anything to acquire.
Outdoors, things can get very harsh and dry. So, they look towards human dwellings for solutions.
Indoors, leaky pipes, water spills, and birdbaths are some of the few places with a consistent supply of water.
Although to you, the amount of water in such places might feel quite small.
To rats, it may be the line between life and death. So, they’ll do anything to get to it.
6. Too much clutter.
Besides being opportunistic, rats are sneaky and pesky as well.
This habit makes one reason rats usually hide their nest in unthinkable places.
But then, many people make hiding easier for rats by keeping too much clutter.
In some houses, owners keep unnecessary scores of unused items like furniture and electronics.
However, these things not only disfigure their interior decor. It also serves as great nesting material for rats.
Roof rats, especially, love to hide in attics.
This is because many house owners often use attics as stores.
Stores, as we all know, take less cleaning attention. And as said earlier, rats love dirty places.
So, there’s no way you won’t see rats if you keep too much clutter.
Why Do You See Rats During the Day?
Yes, it’s true that a rat is a nocturnal rodent. That means they are more active at night to avoid humans.
However, you may see rats during the day when the need arises.
So, it’s no longer a mystery. Here are some reasons you can keep with you:
1. Increased disturbance in cities
Some places in the city are busier at night than during the day.
This increased night activity disturbs the rats from their nocturnal quest for food and water.
In response to that, an affected rat would rather come out of its nest during the day.
It’s safer for them that way.
2. A sign of heavy rat infestation
Rats are heavy breeders.
Within a year, one female rat can produce about six litters.
One litter can have about 5 – 10 young rats.
So, in two years, you may have up to 50 rats in your house if you don’t take proper care.
With such a severe rodent infestation, there’s every chance that you get to see rats during the day.
They can just decide to stroll out of their nest one day. And the reason you see one or more of them can be as simple as that.
3. A sign of rat competition
Rats operate on the principle of “survival of the fittest.”
For that reason, there is some level of hierarchy within a rat burrow.
From what we know, big and strong rats are the dominant ones. So, they get the big crumbs from hunting done at night.
However, the weaker ones are left to hunt during the day to avoid competition.
So, there’s a chance that the rat you see during the day is weak.
You prolly caught it in the act as it tries to avoid competing with bigger and dominant ones resting in the rat burrow.
What Are the Signs of a Rat Infestation?
1. Irritating Ammonia scent and Strange sound
Rats may be sneaky creatures. But they are not that quiet.
In most cases, you can hear their squeaking, rustling, scratching, and gnawing sounds inside walls.
Besides, some rats emit a nauseating ammonia smell.
In case you don’t know, ammonia smells just like urine.
So, if you often perceive these strange sounds and scents, you can start suspecting rats.
2. Rodent Droppings
Rat droppings are the most definitive marker for a rat infestation.
In most cases, rat droppings are tiny, dark-brown pellets.
Although, they are often confused with mouse droppings.
3. Bite Marks
Rats are called pesky for a reason; they cause a lot of damage.
One way to identify damage caused by rats is through gnawing marks.
You can see these on furniture, electrical wires, cardboard papers, and lots more.
Spiritual Meaning of Seeing Rats in Your House.
In most cultures, people associate rats with dirty, and sad things like diseases, poverty, robbery, and death.
One reason for that is because they considered rats to be dirty animals that steal food, hide in dark places and spread diseases.
That said, let’s look at some of the cultural interpretations of seeing rats:
1. What Does It Mean When You’re Seeing Rats in Your House?
The spiritual meaning of this varies between regions and cultures.
In some parts of the world, like Africa, China, Christianity, and old Celtic traditions, rats are considered evil and trickery.
Whereas in regions like Japan and India, rats are believed to be industrious, intelligent, and signs of good fortune.
According to the Japanese, rats brought rice into this world. And to the Indians, rats are a symbol of one of their gods of wealth.
So, you can imagine how much they respect rats.
2. What Does It Mean When You See Rats in Your Dream?
People often consider rat dreams, especially a dead rat or any dead rodent dream, as indicators of ugly emotions.
Such ugly emotions can include jealousy, betrayal, anxiety, and dishonesty.
But as we said earlier, this kind of interpretation is common to traditions where people believe rats are evil.
In India, where rats are symbols of their god of wealth, dreams about rats are highly treasured.
Final Recommendation
Seeing rats in your house can be quite disturbing.
In this article, we noted some scientific and spiritual reasons you are seeing rats in your house. And a couple of them are alarming.
However, if rats disturb you that much, you can get rid of your rodent problem by:
- setting a common rat trap like a snap trap or a glue trap to catch them;
- using rat poison or bait mixed with peanut butter to kill them;
- or hire a pest control or a specified rat control agency to help you eliminate them.
If you’re looking to get rid of rats and other rodents in your house fast, we have other related posts for that. Here’s one of them.