The Nature Nut
Published 12:30 pm Thursday, August 28, 2025
Just a few days ago we found a Bushy-tailed Woodrat dead and partially buried in the needles and debris underneath conifers near our house. We are not sure, but suspect it was killed by some other animal (likely the stray black cat that likes to kill our bats). The head was already buried probably by burying (carrion) beetles, which each must be at least 50 times smaller in size than a Woodrat.
The Bushy-tailed Woodrat is an attractive – even cute – rat with its soft gray to pale brown pelage, white underside, bottle brush hairy tail and big rounded ears. Folks who know it by its alternative name – the Packrat – are forgiven for thinking the word “cute” is rather inappropriate. Even though cute to look at, they do emit an awful smell.
The name Packrat comes from the fact that they compulsively like to gather large numbers of things including bright shiny objects, grasses, leafy debris, pinecones, feces, pack them off to a nest site and then urinate on the collection. The urine crystallizes making the collection harden into a mass known colloquially as a midden. Because Packrats are particularly partial to shiny objects, the middens could be where that long-lost ring, necklace, spoon, or special coin ended up.
Packrat houses in the wilds are often located in openings in rock faces, but may also be high up in a tree. The nests where young are raised are usually within the midden but may also be tucked into nearby crevices in rock faces and barricaded with sticks. The location of middens and nests in rock-faces is often easy to spot due to the large amount of whitewash and bright orange lichens that grow in the nitrogen-rich urine.
In rural and urbanized areas Packrats like to take over outdoor sheds or buildings – abandoned or even still in use. You can always tell if a Packrat has been inside a building or is still there by the distinctive smell. This, of course, does not endear them to people at all.
I remember one day going into our little shed where we stored our backpacking and camping equipment and the smell hit me immediately. As I moved one of the backpacks hanging on the wall, one was clinging to the wall staring at me with those beautiful eyes. We removed it and quickly sealed all holes in the building.
When alarmed, Bushy-tailed Woodrats will drum rapidly with their hind feet, but also may tap slowly even when undisturbed. I will talk about the burying beetles next time.
