What is a rat’s natural diet?

Just like human, there are several types of rats. The different rats have different feeding habits. Some rats are herbivores while others are omnivorous in nature. More or less rats will settle on nothing else but an opportunistic diet- feeding on anything that comes on their way whenever they are hungry. Generally, there are different diets for the different species of rats. You can find them nibbling stuff like:

• Nuts
• Cereals
• Fruits
• Roots and vegetables
• Seeds

Cereals
Rats won’t leave any bag of rye to chance when they find it lying around your home. Similarly, they will rip maize bags open and selectively eat the grains. Oats, barley and wheat are also fed by rats, be it in form of ground flour, refined flour or as whole grains. These rodents are also good at detecting cereal incorporated human feed like cornflakes, leave your cornflakes box open and you will find it empty. They largely have a diverse cereal palate.

Fruits, vegetables and meat
Norway rats are particularly carnivorous, they will hunt insects, eat dead animals, have a slice of bacon and even devour fish. The black rat is inclined to greens, they will eat foliage, some vegetables and seed and dried fruits. They are attracted to dried fruits due to the pleasant aroma and enriching sweetness

Nuts
Rats are crazy about nuts, they will eats almost any kind of nut. Almonds, peanuts, cashew nuts, coconuts, macadamia, chestnuts and other sorts of nuts are munched by rats. In fact, nuts are their staple food. After nuts harvest, rats can infest your home with all their might and destroy the nuts. Peanut butter is also a favorite snack, rats find peanut butter irresistible, even when used as bait.

How do they find food?
Rats are natural hoarders, they will eat as much as they can and keep the rest for later days. They will however hide the food nearby in a place others can’t find. Like many rodents, rats are nocturnal, they forage all night to stay hidden from their predators. Rats with omnivorous traits will occasionally hunt small bugs and insects to supplement their diet. Wild rats try new things day in, day out. They do this on a regular basis through sampling, they eat little bits of the new food to avoid getting sick. They also eat tiny amounts to ensure that the food is digested properly.