Norway Rat

Norway rats (common brown rats) are not as good of climbers as roof rats. You will likely find them in crawlspaces, basements, garages, and wall cavities. The adaptive foragers eat almost anything.

Roof Rat

They are called “roof rats,” because they are great climbers and may use your roof to get in your attic. They won’t stay in your attic. They will travel all over lower-level floors, and roof rats in attics tend to spend their days between floors, in utility spaces, and above false ceilings.

Mice

The house mouse is most common species in Raleigh-Durham. House mice are slender. They are around four inches long and weigh less than half an ounce. They can enter your home through the smallest holes, of less than a quarter inch, by compressing their body and squeezing through.

Other mice species include the white-footed deer mouse, the golden mouse, eastern deer mouse, and cotton mouse. Regardless of the species, these rodents damage your home and should be trapped and removed. 

Eastern Grey Squirrel

The most common rodent anywhere in North Carolina is generally going to be the gray squirrel.  You can see them practically anywhere in the Triangle in your backyard, along the American Tobacco Trail, and scampering across the Oak Grove in Moore Square.

Because they are so common, homeowners aren’t too bothered by seeing them. But they can cause problems when they get into your home. Squirrels can have two litters a year, and they look for shelter to build a nest. Your attic has ideal conditions for a squirrel nest.

Chipmunks

Chipmunks are a small species of ground squirrel. These brown rodents only grow up to five or six inches long and weigh about three ounces. Generally, the greatest nuisance these critters cause are holes in your yard and occasional eating from your garden. 

Voles

Often called field mice or meadow mice, voles live in grassy areas and dig expansive tunnel networks. Voles are usually dark brown to black in color and have coarse pelts. Their undersides are typically gray or white. Both males and females are approximately the same size and color. The tail of the vole is covered in fur and noticeably shorter than the rest of the body. They can become a nuisance when they tear up a yard that the owners intend to maintain. A single female vole can birth over 100 young per year.

Groundhogs 

Groundhogs (or woodchucks) are native to North Carolina and found throughout the state. Stocky in stature, groundhogs have flat heads, rounded noses, short legs, diminutive ears, and, like squirrels, bushy tails. Including the tail, woodchucks reach lengths of up to 2 feet and weigh as much as 15 pounds. Fur color ranges from yellow-gray to differing shades of brown. Because groundhogs do hibernate during the winter, they tend to be most active in spring and in the fall. If you have groundhogs in the yard, you are most likely to notice them  early morning and late afternoon. You usually find them under decks, patios, sheds, in the garden, or other areas surrounded by wood or brush.

Beavers

Beavers are the largest rodent in North America, but they are not often a problem for the typical homeowner. They use the felled trees for dams. Both the downed trees and flooded valleys resulting from their dams can be very destructive to property.

Muskrats

Muskrats are present throughout North Carolina including Raleigh-Durham; however, they require a permanent water source. Their habitats are fresh- and saltwater marshes, canals, ditches, ponds, lakes, rivers and other streams. They are shy  to people and non-aggressive. The biggest threat they pose are to manmade dams and dikes. So if your property is on a manmade lake, you might experience a muskrat problem.