Can Rats Climb On Beds?

Rats can only climb onto your bed if you have a bed on the floor, a mattress, a box spring, a futon, or a standard bed frame. What a rat needs to do to get to your bed is to reach the bedpost first. Then, they will grab onto a blanket or to a sheet, and then they’ll climb on something else, taking a daring jump to access your cozy and warm bed.

Research published in 2016 notes that the Norway rat can grow to as long as 22 cm (8 inches) in just 2 ½ months. When they become adults, they can stand at about 30 cm (more than 11 inches). So, if you have adult Norway rats in your home, business, farm, or garage, they can reach your couches, beds, ottomans, desks, dressers, chairs, tables, computers, and other items. The rats have an 8 -11 inch climbing and reaching space. Here is a brief tabulation on how to keep any type of rats away from your bed:

Rats And Climbing 101: Keeping Them Out Of Your Bed
Tip	Rationale
Do not eat any food or snacks in your bed.	Rats are always hungry.
Close any uncovered wall holes, however small they are.	Rats penetrate tight spaces effectively.
If you have one, sleep with your cat.	Cats are predators, and their instinct will be to kill the rats.
Keep your bedroom clean.	Rats like clutter; they find pleasure in the unkemptness of a place.

In the following section, we will look at the prescribed ways of keeping rats out of your place of sleep. Stick around and get all the anti-rat info you need.

Keeping Rats Out Of Your Bed

As established in the table in the starter, rats have many reasons for climbing into your bed. However, you don’t have to worry about anything because they are practical ways of keeping rats out of your bedroom. Take on the following fine points:

1. Clean Away All The Food Crumbs

As tabulated, rats love to eat. Apart from that, they have a strong sense of smell. So, even the little food crumbs that are lying under your bed can call them to action. Those who are likely to keep falling back on this one are those who like snacking on their beds. If you want to keep eating, always ensure that you clean up properly, leaving nothing for the rat. If you can, try and shake the linen vigorously to let any food crumbs fall. If you have a carpet in your bedroom, use a vacuum to clean it after you’re done eating.

2. Block Any Access Points To Your Bedroom

While it may be extremely challenging to block all access points, it is not impossible. As mentioned earlier, rats, like mice, are very good at penetrating tight spaces. They only need a small hole to access your bedroom. To take on this solution, the first thing you need to do is to identify all the holes in your bedroom’s walls. The bottom of the bedroom door is an excellent place to start. Also, all the exit points from the cupboards need to be completely sealed.

3. Sleep With Your Cat Around

The one thing that the mice-rat rodents fear is a cat. Apart from being bigger than rats (relatively speaking), cats have special abilities that make it easy for them to catch the very invasive critters. Cats are patient, quick, and they have impressive and extraordinary reflexes.

If you have a feline friend, set a place up for it to sleep in your bedroom. Since it has an excellent sense of hearing, it will pinpoint any rat squeak or scratch and switch to predator mode immediately. Cats are a natural weapon against a rat invasion. Having the cat will create a barrier between you and the rat. Good cats will scare away the rats and notify you as they conduct their eradication business. You will be woken up when a rat is caught. They will also try to draw your attention to the places where rats are likely to be hiding in your bedroom.

4. Use Traps

This is a classic method of solving most rodent problems. If you live in an area with a high rat infestation rate, this method is yours to take. You can get a few mouse traps from the pet store or a hardware store. Then, set them up on various but strategic points. After fitting the traps with the bait, you need to wait for them to snap at the touch of a rat.

The bait attached to the trap will be more attractive to your bed. If the trap (or traps) is in your bed, the snap will alert you that something has been caught.

Other Climbable Questions

In the previous parts, we have focused on keeping rats away from climbing onto your bed. In this part, the discussion is extended to other things such as climbing trees, stairs, and walls.

As you may know, rats are arguably the worst of all invasive pets in the world. What makes them an annoying lot is that they reproduce very quickly. Also, they are carriers of many diseases. In history, rats are recorded to have facilitated the Black Death (or the plague), in which about 25 million people lost their lives. If a rat couple (a male and a female) decide to invade your basement or a place in your garden, you need to brace yourself for trouble. Within a few months, the rat population in the cradle areas will have grown exponentially. A female rat can get pregnant multiple times in a year, and in each pregnancy, they can deliver a litter of about eight baby rats. If there is a regular and consistent supply of food and water, the rats will grow, and the small couple will start an infestation.

Rats are highly efficient in burrowing horizontally and swimming, so it is challenging to control them. To make matters worse, rats have impressive climbing skills. Regardless of the specific breed, rats will climb trees efficiently. If rats can take on trees, walls, and stairs are not much of a challenge. This section will extensively look at the rat’s climbing ability (their take-on game) and how you can curb it. Let’s get going!

Can Rats Take On Walls?

Yes – yes, they can. But the question is this: can they do the climbing with ease? The answer to this question is no – rabbits cannot climb all types of walls. Before we respond to this question extensively, we must wrap our head around how a rat climbs.

When it comes to climbing, rats have anatomical advantages that make them the good climbers they are. One of the anatomical benefits is having, on their limbs, minute ridges. These ridges help in generating the much-needed friction so that climbing happens perfectly. Also, they have phalanges (the claws which are on their fingers, with everything being on their paws. These claws usually help the rat to hold onto the ridges of a surface tightly.

It is easier for rats to climb if the walls themselves have rough textures. If the walls are made out of materials that the rat can press its sharp claws, the climbing will be seamless. For example, it is easier for rats to climb up a house siding or a wooden fence instead of a glass building.

As you may have intelligently deduced, rats cannot climb a wall with smooth finishing because there will be little friction. This is the best explanation for why rats don’t climb interior walls.

Can Rats Take On Trees?

Yes, these rodents can take on trees without any challenges. This is because the tree’s toughened bark provides a good grip for the hold of the claw. As a matter of fact, rats are excellent at climbing trees that a specific breed goes by the name roof rats. This species is commonly found climbing palm, cypress, and yucca trees. On top of that, it climbs on roofs and into attics.

Apart from being excellent climbers of trees, rats have a good measure of agility. A confident rat can leap almost up to about a vertical height of 36 inches. Also, it can leap to about a horizontal height of 48 inches. You should understand that rats can easily climb up a tree that is 4 feet away from your home. Then, it can leap onto roofs and walls.

The moment an agile and confident rat leaps onto a wall, the rodent will latch tightly onto it. Then, they can find their way into the attic or whichever place they want. You should also know that a rat is likely to survive a fall from a height of like 50ft. So, if a climbing adventure proves difficult and the rodent falls, it can start the climbing attempt again.

Can Rats Take On Stairs?

Like beds, walls, and trees, rats can easily take on stairs, that is if they choose to. As a matter of fact, rats don’t even need to climb stairs; they can successfully jump. As noted, a rat can leap 36 inches vertically and 48 inches horizontally, which are very incredible numbers. Looking at those figures, do you think an elevated construction such as a staircase can be too much for them? I believe not.

Can Rats Take On Windows And Climb Through Them?

It doesn’t matter how high a window is located – a rat will climb through the window with perfect agility. In fact, the most popular way of rats getting into human establishments is using windows. As mentioned elsewhere in the article, rats can climb trees and jump about 4 feet to a wall made out of brick. This way, they can crawl through the window and into the house.

It is fascinating and intriguing to know that rats do not require open windows to come into a home. Instead, they only need a small opening that can accommodate their head. As tabulated, rats are very good at penetrating tight spaces. The reason why it is possible is that a rat has flexible bones. Their bodies are flexible, long, and cylindrical. This is an advantage that they have developed because of evolution. Over the years, they have become adapted to running through tight spaces and down tunnels.

Can Rats Take On Fences?

The answer is yes, much like the one to all the other items. While rats can climb onto and over fences, they prefer digging their way into the other side. If you are quite interested in gardening, you will likely have come across some plants that rats destroyed.

No matter how hard you try to look, you will not determine how a rat may have gotten in. And, it is quite apparent to conclude that a rat might have overcome the fence and gotten into the house. However, that might probably not be the case.

Being excellent burrowers, rats may have dug their way into the house. Also, the burrow’s opening will be so small and, thus, challenging to spot.

What Are The Things That Rats Cannot Climb?

As mentioned and implied before this point, surfaces that are too slippery and smooth are a no-no for rats. This is because the claws of a rat cannot dig in and grip onto a slippery surface. A smooth finishing means that the rat cannot grab onto, and hence, they cannot climb over. This detail is critical in preventing rats from climbing up walls. Here’s more on surfaces that rats cannot climb:

1. Smooth Tiles

As you already know, tiles are polished and therefore very smooth. This situation makes it virtually impossible for any rat to get the grip needed to hold on.

This is the best explanation of why rats do not climb up your house’s smooth interior wall. Rats cannot generate enough friction using the skin on their limbs or the sharp claws.

2. Single Sheet Plastic Walls

Just like smooth tiles, a rat cannot generate the needed grip on this type of wall. Thus, they cannot climb it. For that reason, the single-sheet plastic walls are a favorite option in rat deterrence. Homeowners can put the plastic material over their existing walls to keep the rats all at bay.