Norway rats aren’t native to Ohio. They’re an Old World species that arrived in North America with European shipping and settlement, and the state has 160 records of them in the current occurrence data. Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area show up as reference points, but this is a species that keys off human structures, not wild habitat. Norway rats live in and around barns, grain stores, sewers, and building foundations far more than open marsh or prairie, so reports cluster wherever people and their buildings are, not wherever the terrain looks right.
The monthly record count stays fairly flat across the year, with modest bumps in July and September rather than one sharp peak. That fits a species that doesn’t need to time its life around a short wild breeding season, since Norway rats breed opportunistically whenever food and shelter allow. Because it’s introduced rather than native, Ohio’s NatureServe rank for this species is SNA, not applicable, a designation used for non-native wildlife the state doesn’t formally assess for conservation status.
Full species profile
