Alex Carson
Rats
Rats cause a variety of problems. They eat our food, they chew through our property, they carry diseases, and they are challenging to get rid of. No matter how much poison we use, and how many traps we use, rats continue to multiply at an alarming rate. Rats are very resilient creatures, and they are smarter than we give them credit for.
City Rats
Rats don’t only live out in the country or suburban homes. There are many big cities that are infested with rats. Why wouldn’t rats want to live in big cities? There are restaurants on every corner, which provides a source of food for large rat populations. There are millions of people living in large cities, which gives rats a comfortable place to eat and sleep. Finally, there are thousands of people walking down the streets, leaving food behind. When it comes to finding a place to thrive, rats were very smart in setting up a home in the big city.
New York City The Underground Kingdom
New York City is one major rat city. And New York is overrun by rats, yet we know almost nothing about their underground kingdom. This is the reason that New York has been unsuccessful in eradicating the rate problem. According to reports, cities are going about addressing rat infestation the wrong way. If there are rates in public properties or government buildings, it is up to the municipal government to handle the problem. If there are rat infestations in local food establishments, it is up to the local health authorities to deal with the issue. Also, if rats are found in a person’s home, it is up to them to deal with the problem. Because everyone isn’t on the same page and we aren’t working together to achieve the same goal, it makes it more challenging to deal with the rat issue.
Millions Of Dollars
Every year, big cities but millions of dollars into controlling the rat population. New York City spent $32 million on the “War on Rats.” The reason that all of this money is going to waste is that we don’t understand rats, and we are looking at the rat problem the wrong way. We are also looking at rats the wrong way. Rather than looking at New York as a place that is under human control and has been invaded by rats, we should look at the city as an ecosystem, and rats live here too.
Cohabitation With Their Underground Kingdom?
The experts who believe that we are not looking at the rat problem correctly in no way believe that we should accept the rats and start cohabitation with them. The experts believe that we need to shift the focus to managing the ecosystem of which the rats are part of, rather than focusing on the rats themselves. When we understand that we are managing an ecosystem, more successful plans can be put into place.
Making Meaningful Changes
If New York wants to use their money set aside on the War on Rats properly, they need to focus on places other than eating establishments and places where the rats can be an embarrassment. Rats live in homes because they have access to food, water, and shelter. When a rat sets up home in a person’s house, they have no reason to leave. These rodents are more prominent in poor, poverty-stricken areas. The people who live in these areas are barely making ends meet as it is. They don’t have the money to worry about rat extermination. If these areas aren’t taken care of, the rat problem will never be eradicated. They will continue to multiply and move throughout the city.
The Urban Landscape
Taking care of the rats in these areas doesn’t mean that the rest of the urban landscape should be ignored. Rather than singling out specific areas where rats are a problem, New York officials should be looking at the city as a whole. They need to understand that there are rats everywhere, even if we don’t see them. When they look at the rat problem as a whole, they will have a better chance to eradicating the problem as a whole.
Programs and Policies
New York needs to work with experts with a vast knowledge of rats in urban areas if they are going to set up the proper programs and policies to get rid of the rat problem in the city. Until this happens, we are going to be sharing out cities with rats for the foreseeable future.
Intelligence
Another mistake that New York officials are making is that they are underestimating the intelligence of rats. Rats are very intelligent creatures, which could be the reason that they can survive in just about any environment.
Decades
Considering how serious the rat problem is in New York, it could take decades to handle the problem. Had the city understood the best way to look at the rat problem thirty years ago, New Yorkers may not be living above a rat kingdom today.
