What Eats Rats in Texas?
Owls, hawks, snakes, foxes, coyotes, bobcats and cats all eat rats, and DFW has every one of them. Owls and rat snakes are the rat hunters most often working near homes. None of them can keep up with rats, though. Texas Tech's Mammals of Texas notes that predators often can't keep a rat population in check.
On this page
The Animals That Eat Rats in DFW
Rats sit near the bottom of the food chain, so a long list of animals hunts them. Most of these predators work at night, the same hours rats are out looking for food. This table lists the ones you're most likely to have near a DFW home and how much each one actually helps.
| Predator | How it hunts rats | How much it helps around a house |
|---|---|---|
| Barn owl | Hunts open ground at night by sound | Takes mostly mice, gophers and voles, with some rats |
| Great horned owl | Ambushes from trees and rooftops at dusk | Takes rats when it finds them, but hunts a wide area |
| Red-tailed hawk | Hunts open fields and roadsides by day | Rarely sees rats, which stay hidden in daylight |
| Texas rat snake | Climbs trees, attics and walls to reach nests | Can clear a nest, but lives alone and moves on |
| Foxes, coyotes and bobcats | Hunt greenbelts and creek corridors at night | Help along the edges of town, rarely near the house |
| Cats | Stalk and ambush near the ground | Catch mice more often than adult rats |
The pattern is clear. Predators that hunt open ground at night do the most work, but rats living in attics, wall voids and dense shrubs stay out of their reach.
Owls and Hawks
Owls are the predators people hope for. A barn owl family can eat about 1,000 rodents in a single nesting season, according to UC ANR's look at barn owls as biological control. Most of that diet is gophers, mice and voles, though, and the same article warns that owl boxes alone aren't a proven way to control rodents.
Great horned owls are the big owls of DFW neighborhoods, often heard calling from tall trees in winter. They take rats when they catch them, along with rabbits, skunks and birds. Hawks hunt by day, when rats are mostly hidden, so they matter less around houses.
Snakes, Foxes and Other Hunters
The Texas rat snake is the rodent hunter that most often turns up near homes. It's nonvenomous, it climbs well and it follows rats into trees, sheds and even attics. One snake can wipe out a nest, but it hunts alone and moves on once food runs short.
Foxes, coyotes and bobcats live along DFW's creeks and greenbelts and eat rats along with mice, rabbits and fruit. The Mammals of Texas account for the Norway rat also names the spotted skunk and the barn owl among its predators, alongside house cats.
Why Predators Can't Keep Rats in Check
Rats breed too fast for any predator to keep up. Mammals of Texas puts the Norway rat's litters at 7 or 8 young on average, with pregnancies of only 21 to 23 days. UC IPM's rat guide says predators can't significantly control animals that colonize new areas easily and reproduce quickly.
Cats are the most overrated of all. A cat may kill mice and young rats, but adult Norway rats are big and aggressive, and many cats leave them alone. A house with a cat can still have rats in the attic.
Poison can also hurt the predators you'd like to keep around. EPA limits the strongest rat poisons to licensed professionals because rats that eat them can poison the owls, hawks and foxes that eat the rats.
Rats in Southlake and What Works
Southlake's wooded lots, creek corridors and the parks near Lake Grapevine give rats and their predators plenty of cover. Owls and snakes do their part in those spaces, but they won't follow a rat into your attic insulation. Once rats move indoors, sealing the gaps and trapping inside is what works.
Our rat control in Southlake starts by finding where rats get in, then seals those spots and sets traps where they travel. The same approach is part of our rodent control for DFW homes.
Rat Predators FAQ
Do owls eat rats?
Yes. Barn owls and great horned owls both eat rats, though barn owls catch more mice, gophers and voles. An owl on your street helps, but it won't clear rats out of a building.
Do snakes eat rats?
Yes, and the Texas rat snake earned its name hunting them. Rat snakes are nonvenomous and pose little danger to people, so it's best to leave them alone outdoors.
Will a dog keep rats away?
A dog may scare rats away from the yard for a while, and breeders developed some terriers to hunt them. Most dogs won't stop rats from nesting in the attic or behind the walls, though.
Rats that slip past every owl and snake in the neighborhood need a sealed house, not more predators. Start with a price online or by phone, and our technicians will seal the attic and garage gaps those rats rely on.
