The rat race appears to be returning to New York.
A year after the coronavirus pandemic first struck, in which normal life was suspended, think of the city rats who also suffered.
When restaurants and bars closed and indoor dining suspended because the city was forced to lock up, a reliable food source for the Big Apple’s rodent population suddenly dried up.
But now that life is slowly returning to normal, so is the number of pest complaints with the city’s hotline in March reporting an 80% increase from the same time last year.
In March there were 2,906 complaints. In comparison, that’s even higher than before the pandemic: In 2019, the city’s 311 complaint line saw 2,395 for rodents, Bloomberg reports.
In mid-March, an Instagram user in New York posted a photo of a rat on the windshield of a car: It’s not clear how the rat got there, or whether it’s part of the recent swarm that has invaded the city, but this user took it as a sign of bad things to come
In late January, as complaints continued to rise from last year, a TikTok user posted a video in New York of not one, but two dead rats on the street
Social media users have recorded their sightings of the pest and posted it online. This rat was potted on the Brooklyn street in March when the number of visitors to the city increased by 80 percent
Information from the city shows that the number of sightings of rats and mice had risen significantly, with most complaints coming from Brooklyn, followed by Manhattan and Queens.
“As things open up, you’ll have more and more food available,” said Benjamin Hottel, an entomologist. “There will be higher pressure on the rodent restaurants as their businesses grow.”
As expected, the areas that were essentially deserted during the height of the pandemic, such as commercial buildings, now experience more rodent activity as workers return to the officers.
But the New York shutdown also changed rats’ behavior, as the pests that had depended on eating the trash from nearby restaurants were suddenly forced to find new food sources.
One person saw a rat on a railing when they peeked out their Brooklyn window in February
Rats are once against being seen along the New York City subway platforms
A few rats were spotted on the trail of the New York City subway
As restaurants were closed except for take-out service, much less food waste was thrown out in the alleys or trash, driving the local rodent population out to look for leftovers
Many people posted sightings of rats on social media accounts
Several rats could be seen running along a wall
In May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning about “unusual or aggressive rodent behavior.”
“Chaos is going on for the rats. They’re trying to figure out where the easiest food source is, as certain food sources have disappeared, ”Hottel said.
Rats also suddenly became more active during the day and moved to habitats where more food and waste could be found, but the creatures are expected to return to their more familiar behaviors as life slowly returns to normal.
A restaurant is now suddenly closing, which has happened in thousands in not just New York City, but coast to coast and around the world, and those rats that lived at that restaurant, somewhere nearby, and maybe for decades, generations rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life doesn’t work for them anymore, and they only have a few choices, ” Corrigan told NBC News last year.
When hungry rats move to areas where food is still available, a massacre ensues.
Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodent physician who holds both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in rodent control said rats who rely on homes for their food are still doing well
A rat has a garbage can all to itself looking for food in New York
It’s just like we’ve seen in the history of mankind, where people try to take over countries and they come in with armies and armies and fight to the death, literally, for who is going to conquer that land. And that’s what happens to rats, ” Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist who holds both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in rodent control, said.
“A new ‘army’ of rats is coming in, and whatever army has the strongest rats will conquer that territory.”
The fierce grass wars go beyond just fights for junk – often rats drive each other to eat each other.
“They’re mammals just like you and me, and so if you’re really, really hungry, you’re not going to do the same thing – usually you’re going to be really bad,” he said.
“So these rats are fighting with each other, now the adults are killing the young in the nest and cannibalizing the pups.”
In March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would increase waste collections after services were scaled back due to budget constraints during the pandemic.
Last year, viral videos emerged in New Orleans of swarms of rats taking over roads and sidewalks in usually bustling neighborhoods like the French Quarter (photo)