This was a juvenile rat, probably trying to make a home before winter sets in. He was feeding on birdseed and from trashcans that didn’t have a lid on them. These issues will be addressed with the household, since he started digging his tunnels (and shitting stinky rat shit) near my front door. 
Uma Thurman picks her dead foe up from the earth, and removes the golden arrow. Then with the rat in her hand, she looks up to her teacher.
PAI MEI: "How does victory taste?"
THE BRIDE: "Bitter."
It’s not a Chronic Problem yet, and I probably cut off the colony leader before he had a chance to establish a warren, but here are a few tips in preventing or stopping a rat infestation in the city:
- A single pair of rats can multiply more than 15,000 descendants in 1 year;
- Garbage-fed city rats are considerably larger than their rural cousins;
- Rats can survive for 14 days without food;
- Rats love cracked corn and can easily hop into an unsealed trash can;
- If you like birds, try planting sunflowers, which attract goldfinches but not house sparrows and rats in the fall;
- Rats have poor eyesight and rely heavily on their whiskers to feel their way around. Set traps near walls or known pathways;
- Pack size can range from 15 to 220 individuals;
- One dominant male rat lives with a harem of several female rats;
- 5 to 25% of all unknown-cause fires are caused by rats;
- A rat can gain entrance through any hole larger than a half-inch in diameter.