The most difficult infestation any homeowner will ever face is, hands down, a nest of rats. They’re strong, crafty, and very, very hard to kill. Most of it, frankly, just has to do with their brains – Baltimore rats are incredibly intelligent. They pack a lot of deductive power inside such a tiny brain. Humans know this, of course, because rats have long been a favorite test subject in laboratories. They share a remarkable number of key similarities with humans, and they’re clever enough to perform some fairly complex experiments with ease.



It’s in the course of some of those experiments that we’ve seen just how intelligent they are. You’ve likely heard that Maryland rats can learn, remember, and complete mazes quickly. It’s true, and it far outpaces the ability of other animals to do the same. An easy comparison is this: rats can be as smart as dogs, and can learn just as many commands. They can learn names, respond to owners, bond with owners, and mourn the loss of their owners, or other family members. Any pet owner can testify to this, of course, but if you’ve never owned a rat, know that they can express emotions quite clearly.

These aren’t minor displays of emotion, either. Some rats have died of sadness after the death of family members, refusing to eat or drink until they waste away. It was watching these sorts of emotional reactions, in fact, that led to the now widespread conclusion that animals feel in many of the same ways as we do. On rare occasions, Balitmore rats will process information faster than humans. No joke – it was the subject of a KU Leuven study, where both rats and humans were given patterns to spot. Humans would find the simpler bad patterns quickly, and avoid them. As they got more complex, however, the rats started to beat the humans. It’s an unusually humbling conclusion. By far the biggest indication of their intelligence and emotion, however, is this one odd fact: rats like being tickled. It’s the cornerstone of the late neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp’s work, in fact. You likely haven’t heard the name, unless you work in biology and research – in which case, it’s certain you’ve heard talk of the Man who Tickled Rats.

Dr. Panksepp, to be fair, studies the human brain, particularly emotions and autism – the Maryland rats were a small portion of his contribution to neuroscience. They did, however, lead to a greater understanding of how both human and animal brains handle emotion – and the more complex brains make friends. Panksepp found that rats enjoy being tickled, and that they’d both jump for joy when seeing him return, and try to cajole him into staying.

Dr. Panksepp made friends with a lot of Balitmore rats. They’d recognize him, bond with him, and make friends with both himself, his lab assistants, and any other species of animal. They feel, they learn, they deduce, and they remember. It’s no wonder they make such great friends, and formidable enemies.

Visit our Baltimore wildlife trapping home page to learn more about us.