Eastern woodrat

Eastern woodrats build houses: large piles of sticks, bark, leaves and debris with nest chambers inside, sometimes used by generations of woodrats. They stock these houses with food for the winter and with a curious collection of other objects.

They are known as pack rats for their habit of carrying away small, often shiny items — bottle caps, coins, bits of foil — and sometimes leaving something else in their place, which gave them the name "trade rat".

Woodrat houses are shelters for many other animals, including insects, salamanders, snakes, lizards and small mammals, making the woodrat a builder of habitat for others.

Woodrats are also a native rat, very different from the introduced Norway and black rats, and they seldom live near people.

Breeding — spring and summer, with one or two litters a year
Gestation — about 33 to 35 days
Litter — usually two to four young
Eyes open — at about two to three weeks old
Weaning — at about four weeks old
Lifespan — a few years

• A woodrat in an old building or shed has usually moved into a structure that stands empty.
• Leaving brush piles and stick houses in woods keeps their homes and those of the animals that share them.
• Like other wild rodents, they can carry diseases; avoid handling them.

• All rats are dirty city pests. The woodrat is a native forest animal with soft fur and big eyes.
• A pile of sticks in the woods is rubbish. It may be a woodrat's house, and home to many other animals.

• Norway rat
• Black rat
• Hispid cotton rat