The rat race seems to be returning to New York.
One year after the first coronavirus pandemic occurred, in which normal life was suspended, save a thought for the city’s rats who also suffered.
As restaurants and bars were closed and indoor restaurants were suspended and the city was forced to close, a reliable source of food for the Big Apple rodent population suddenly dried up.
But now that life is slowly returning to normal, so have the number of complaints against parasites with a direct phone line in the city in March, reporting an 80% increase over the same period last year.
There were 2,906 complaints in March. For comparison, it is even higher than the levels before the pandemic: in 2019, the city’s line 311 for complaints saw 2,395 for rodents, reports Bloomberg.
In mid-March, an Instagram user in New York posted a picture of a rat on a car: it’s unclear how the rat got there or if it’s part of the recent swarm invading the city, but this user took it as sign of the bad things to come
Towards the end of January, when complaints continued to grow over last year, a TikTok user posted a video in New York, not one, but two dead rats on the street.
Social network users captured the observations about the parasites and posted them online. This rat was thrown on the street in Brooklyn in March, as calls to the city increased by 80%
City information shows that the observations of rats and mice have increased significantly, with most complaints coming from Brooklyn, followed by Manhattan and Queens.
“As things open up more, you will have more and more food available,” said Benjamin Hottel, an entomologist. “There will be more pressure for rodent restaurants as their business grows.”
As expected, those areas that were essentially deserted during the peak of the pandemic, such as commercial spaces, are now facing more rodent activity as workers return to officers.
But the closure of New York also changed the behavior of rats, as pests that relied on garbage at nearby restaurants were suddenly forced to find new sources of food.
A person saw a rat on a railing when he glanced out the window in Brooklyn in February
Rats once opposed being spotted on New York subway platforms
Several rats were spotted flying on the runways of the New York subway
As restaurants were closed except for the dining service, much less food waste was dumped in the alley or garbage, leading the local population of outdoor rodents to look for debris.
A lot of people posted comments of rats on social media accounts
Several rats were seen running along a wall
In May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning about “unusual or aggressive rodent behavior.”
– There was this chaos for rats. They are trying to find out where the easiest source of food is, because some food sources have disappeared, ”said Hottel.
Rats suddenly became more active during the day and moved to residential areas where more food and waste could be found, but the creatures are expected to return to their more familiar behavior as life slowly returns to normal. .
“A restaurant suddenly closes, which happened to thousands of people, not just in New York, but from coast to coast and around the world, and the rats that lived in that restaurant, in one place nearby and maybe for decades having generations of rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life doesn’t work for them anymore and they only have a few options, ”Corrigan told NBC News last year.
When hungry rats move to areas where food is still available, massacre occurs.
Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist who has both a master’s and a doctorate. With regard to the management of rodent pests, he said that rats that rely on homes for food supply are still doing well.
A rat has a trash can for itself in search of food in New York
“It is exactly as we have seen in human history, where people try to take over lands and come with soldiers and armies and fight to the death, literally, for who will conquer that land. And that’s what happens to rats, “said Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodent who has both a master’s and a doctorate in rodent pest management, he said.
“A new ‘army’ of rats is coming in and any of the armies with the strongest rats will conquer that area.”
Fierce turf wars extend beyond just fights over the grub – often leading rats to eat each other.
“They’re mammals just like you and me, so when you’re very, very hungry, you won’t act the same way – you will usually act very badly,” he said.
“So these rats are fighting each other, now the adults are killing the young in the nest and cannibalizing the chicks.”
In March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would increase the number of garbage collections after services were reduced due to budget constraints during the pandemic.
Last year, in New Orleans, viral videos with swarms of rats appeared that took over roads and sidewalks in usually lively neighborhoods, such as the French Quarter (pictured)