
It's no secret that rats can reproduce prolifically, but the numbers they can reach are staggering.

A female rat typically births six litters a year, consisting of around 12 pups.

If left unchecked, a pair of rats can produce 482,508,800 pups in just three years, a new interactive graphic reveals.

Press play to see how rat populations can multiply in just a matter of years

It's no secret that rats can reproduce prolifically, but the numbers they can reach are staggering. Above, the interactive graphic shows how a pair of rats can produce close to half a billion descendants in just three years

The report explains the breeding cycle of a brown rat living in an ideal environment.

An interactive graphic accompanying the data shows that, after just three months, a pair of rats will produce about 10 offspring.

After six months, fifty rats can be produced.

Rats reach sexual maturity after four to five weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year.

Though a rat's lifespan is only one year, it compensates for this in how often they breed.

Pest controllers and a lack of food and shelter availability keep rat numbers down, and diseases as well as predators like owls control their populations levels too. Rats also fight and can cannibalize each other

Rat pregnancies only last 21 to 23 days, and each rat produces around three to six litters in its lifetime.

However, rats don't outnumber humans because there are some things that keep their populations from spiraling out of control.

Pest controllers and a lack of food and shelter availability keep their numbers down, and diseases as well as predators like owls also control their populations levels too.

Rats also fight and can cannibalize each other.

BROWN RAT: REPRODUCTION FACTS A female rat typically births six litters a year, consisting of around 12 pups. Stock image Rats reach sexual maturity after four to five weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year. If left unchecked, a pair of rats can produce 482,508,800 pups in just three years, a new report says Brown rats typically have: 21-23 day pregnancy period

Up to 12 rats per litter, although five to ten is more common

Three to six litters in a lifetime

Average lifespan of one year


Their death rate usually increases as the size of the population grows, as food and space becomes more limited, partially keeping the rate the population grows in check.

According to the study, the industry most affected by rats is restaurants, followed by retail and offices.

Rentokil, the pest control company that conducted the study, saw an 86 per cent increase in the number of rat-related callouts from 2015 to 2016.

'If we were to do nothing we would be overrun by rats,' said Dr Andy Brigham, a zoologist and the General Technical Manager at Rentokil's Global Science Center.

Left: Rentokil, the pest control company that conducted the study, saw an 86 per cent increase in the number of rat-related callouts from 2015 to 2016. Right: Graph showing the industries most affected by rats. Restaurants are the most affected, followed by retail and offices

'Their breeding strategy is very different to that of humans.

'It is characterised by quantity over quality.

'They produce very large numbers of offspring on the basis that at least some will survive long enough to produce their own litters.

'If there is sufficient space and food they have the potential to rapidly explode in numbers to exploit that, but mortality is high whenever food or space is limited, and factors such as disease, starvation, predation, and our own pest control efforts help to keep the rate of growth in check.'