There are two main species of rats in the UK, the Black rat (Rattus rattus) that is mainly confined to ports and a few isolated islands and the common or brown rat (Rattus Norvegicus) which is found in drains, homes and businesses Rats can carry numerous diseases that can spread to humans via their urine these include Weil's disease, listeria and salmonella. Rats also cause a huge deal of damage to buildings, it is estimated that damaged wiring by rats is responsible for 25%