Do pet rats attract wild rats?

Hello, I am considering getting two male rats. They will live in my room which is on the first floor of a semi in London. There is a small patio garden. I have heard a rumour that pet rats can attract wild rats. This I do not want, so has anyone ever encountered this before? Thank you!Do pet rats attract wild rats?
No, it would be the other way around, the wild rats will kill the domestic rats.





The first two things that a wild rat looks for is food and shelter. Your pets will not attract the wilds per say, but it's the rat food and your warm home that will attract them instead. Wild rats are far more aggressive then the domestic rats and when the wilds see your pets as competition for food and shelter, that's when the trouble will begin.





http://spazrats.tripod.com/wildcousins.h鈥?/a>


http://spazrats.tripod.com/domesticpets.鈥?/a>


I appologize now for any broken links as I have not worked on these pages in ages.





I would be happy to talk to you about rat-keeping :) See my profile for an e-mail address.





spazrats


';my life has gone to the rats';Do pet rats attract wild rats?
I'm not sure, but in the book ';RATS'; it happened.
Absolutely not. I've had pet rats since I was a small child, and currently have 2 males myself. A pet rat would no more attract a wild rat than a pet spaniel would attract a wolf, or your kitty attract a mountain lion. While a pet rat and a wild rat are in the same family (much like a dog and a wolf), they are at totally different ends of the spectrum, and really want nothing to do with each other. If they would encounter one another, the wild rat would quickly kill a domestic rat, but they do not seek them a food. If rats are an issue in the area, they will be attracted by food and trash left by people, not your pets. Just a rumour!
I've had several pet rats over the years, and never had a problem with their attracting wild rats.
I've had pet rats for years and I've never had a problem with wild rats coming around. I've heard that rumor applied to mice, but never rats. Mice have a much stronger odor than rats do but I'm still not too sure if it's true. Nobody I know who has ever had pet rats, myself included, has ever had a problem with wild rats. I think you'll be fine.
Their food might attract wild rats but I don't think the rats themselves attract other rats.