Within every major city, there’s a hidden population.
Each day is a struggle for survival, but these inhabitants have perfected the art.
They’re unstoppable, indestructible, and cities can’t seem to solve the problem no
matter what they do.
Oh Rats!
No really, I mean rats -- how on Earth do they manage to thrive so well?
The first question is, why are these rodents the undesirables of the world?
Well, every year, they devour a significant portion of crops worldwide and are a threat
to native wildlife and public health!
Meeting one of them in the subway, or, even scarier, in your own toilet, will unlikely
bring you much joy.
It’s no surprise huge cities have tried different methods to get rid of them, and
I’ll tell you about the most creative ones a bit later.
But for now, here’s a tip of the hat to their incredible survival skills!
Their biggest asset is their numbers.
In New York City alone, there’s possibly 10 million rats, but some estimates put it
up to 30 million!
And those numbers grow exponentially.
One mother rat can have 8 to 12 babies every 30 days if there’s enough food, water, and
shelter.
If you do some simple rat math, you’ll see that one couple can have 144 babies each year.
Those rat babies can have their own offspring when they turn 2 or 3 months old.
Add the amount their babies and grandbabies can produce, and you’ll get an empire of
15,000 descendants from one rat couple in a year!
Multiply that by all the rat families in the city, and the numbers skyrocket to the unimaginable.
Besides that, they can eat just about anything.
All the trash in the city makes it the perfect real estate for rodents.
They can climb brick walls, trees, and telephone poles.
They can walk over electric lines, get through holes the size of a quarter, dive into plumbing
systems, and walk away unscathed from a 5-story tumble.
Their teeth grow about 4 inches a year, so they need something to gnaw on.
Again, urban living has plenty of materials for that!
Finally, and most importantly, they’re very intelligent.
Plenty of studies show that rats can even use tools.
When they find some new food, they only take a tiny bite first to wait and see if it’s
safe or not.
Hey there’s always winner in the Rat Race!
Plus, they can even develop resistance to different substances used against them.
So, the struggle is real when it comes to ridding the city of them.
Now, remember, rats aren’t total villains.
They’re just doing what any species is meant to do: survive and multiply.
Unfortunately for us, living near humans makes that goal easier to carry out.
Hoping to prove they can’t really be invincible, New York City started a $32 million anti-rat
campaign in 2017.
They replaced traditional trash cans with the ones that have mailbox-style openings.
This would deprive rats of their favorite food source.
The attempt hasn’t been that successful so far…
10 years before that, Brooklyn officials tried a more extravagant solution.
They let some opossums run wild and free in local parks, hoping they’d lower the rat
population.
To their surprise, the opossums preferred to keep peace with the rats and feasted on
gardens and trash instead!
So, soon enough, possums became the new problem!
In Chicago, they went even further and let coyotes roam the city streets!
This was part of a research project to see how the animals survive and behave in the
city.
Coyotes are natural hunters, so they won’t take food that comes easily from a dumpster
– they’d rather track down rats instead!
And, to answer your question – no, the canines haven’t been in any coyote vs. human incidents.
And, no, they haven’t solved the rat issue yet…
In Paris, where there are about 4 rats for every human, the “Le Smash” campaign takes
place every spring.
Special teams disinfect public spaces like parks, and people take care of their own homes
and businesses.
The officials even encourage citizens to “ratatouille” on their neighbors who don’t take good care
of their trash and, thus, feed the rodents.
They also have an interactive rat map and hotline to inform of mass sightings.
Since none of these solutions have worked so far, I guess it’s fair enough to say
you’re never more than 6 feet from a rat in some places.
Does that sound accurate for where you live?
Let me know down in the comments!
And while we’re here, let’s bust some common pest urban legends!
“Rats are dirty and smelly.”
Rats might not smell like your favorite perfume because they live in a pretty filthy environment.
But they aren’t any dirtier than other animals.
Anyone who’s had pet rats will know that they spend more than half their day cleaning
themselves and their pals!
Yeah, just like cats!
“They’re wild animals bent on survival.”
Sure, they’re good at avoiding being wiped out, but there’s a lot more to rats than
you’d think.
Like, that they feel empathy!
Japanese researchers offered them an uneasy choice: one door led to a chocolate treat,
and the other allowed them to save their trapped friend.
Most of the rats, especially those who’d previously been trapped themselves, chose
their friends over food!
Wow.
“Cheese is the best bait for mice traps.”
Because mice love cheese, right?
Well, sure, mice will eat pretty much anything you give them.
But cheese isn’t the best choice as a bait.
If you’re looking for a better alternative, something sweet, like dried foods or peanut
butter, will do much better than dairy.
“Pests don’t live in clean homes.”
You might see pests as something that automatically comes with a filthy home, but they aren’t
solely attracted to dust and grime.
They’re looking for shelter, food, and water to start nesting – they can find all that
in a spotless home too!
So make sure you don’t leave open food anywhere in your house.
Instead, cut off their access to it, and they’ll be less tempted to live with you.
“Adult moths can mess up your wardrobe.”
If you open your closet and see adult moths fly out, don't panic.
Your wool, cashmere, and silk are fine as long as they haven't laid larvae in there
yet.
The larvae are the real problem because they need the keratin in those natural materials
to grow big and strong.
Sachets filled with dried lavender, mint leaves, or peppermint oil will prevent them from doing
so.
Also, moths aren’t great fans of cedar dressers and wardrobes.
“Bees can only sting once.”
When a bee stings someone in the room, and you think you and others are safe now since
it only does it once, don’t let your guard down so easily.
Only honey bees sting just once.
Other bees, wasps, and hornets can sting repeatedly, so watch out!
“Boiling water will help you get rid of ants.”
Nope, that’s just cruel and ineffective.
It won’t do anything to solve your ant infestation because the queen and the rest of the colony
will remain somewhere else untouched.
If you mix vinegar and water in a 50/50 ratio in a spray bottle and clean the floors, windows,
and countertops with it, the whole colony will probably pack up and move somewhere else.
“Fleas need a host to survive.”
Fleas can live up to 155 days without any food source whatsoever.
They’ll do fine even in a totally deserted home!
“If you can’t see them, they aren’t anywhere near.”
Even if your house looks pest-free, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Termites and carpenter ants hide and feast inside the walls.
Bed bugs are active at night, so you won’t see them during the day.
To be sure you don’t have unwanted little roommates, you might have to spend some extra
money on pest inspections – it’s worth it, though!
“A bug zapper will get them all, including mosquitos!”
Well, here’s the buzz on that.
No, it won’t.
Mosquitos aren’t attracted to light.
They, like a lot of biting insects, use their sense of smell to detect a food source.
(More specifically, the carbon dioxide you release with each exhale!)
You might’ve zapped a mosquito or two in one of those things, but, overall, they’re
useless against these and many other insects.
Finally, there’s this about rats.
If you spell “rats” backwards, you get “star”.
So does that mean that rats come from outer space, because Mickey Mouse was a Star?
Only if you’re a conspiracy theorist.
Sometimes, rats are just rats.
And before you write something, yes, Mickey was a mouse.
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