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yaesu

(8,020 posts)
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 10:11 AM Apr 2020

Starving, angry and cannibalistic: America's rats are getting desperate amid coronavirus pandemic

NBC: America's rats are being hit hard by the coronavirus.

As millions of Americans shelter indoors to combat the deadly virus, which has claimed over 21,000 U.S. lives, many businesses — including restaurants and grocery stores — have closed or limited operations, cutting off many rodents' main sources for food. On deserted streets across the country, rats are in dire survival mode, experts say.

"If you take rats that have been established in the area or somebody's property and they're doing well, the reason they're doing well is because they're eating well," Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist, told NBC News. "Ever since coronavirus broke out, not a single thing has changed with them, because someone's doing their trash exactly the same in their yard as they've always done it — poorly."

But many other rats are not faring as well, said Corrigan, who works as a consultant for several city health departments and businesses, such as airports and shopping malls.

"A restaurant all of a sudden closes now, which has happened by the thousands in not just New York City but coast to coast and around the world, and those rats that were living by that restaurant, some place nearby, and perhaps for decades having generations of rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life is no longer working for them, and they only have a couple of choices."

And those choices are grim. They include cannibalism, rat battles and infanticide.

"It's just like we've seen in the history of mankind, where people try to take over lands and they come in with militaries and armies and fight to the death, literally, for who's going to conquer that land. And that's what happens with rats," he said. "A new 'army' of rats come in, and whichever army has the strongest rats is going to conquer that area."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/starving-angry-cannibalistic-america-s-rats-are-getting-desperate-amid-n1180611

43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Starving, angry and cannibalistic: America's rats are getting desperate amid coronavirus pandemic (Original Post) yaesu Apr 2020 OP
Every American should adopt a rat. I can't. I have a rare rat allergy. Beakybird Apr 2020 #1
Every November we try to keep them out of office. Throck Apr 2020 #6
LOL +1 BeckyDem Apr 2020 #25
Every day has become a good day saidsimplesimon Apr 2020 #28
Rats have apparently learned well from humans. Throck Apr 2020 #2
I heard they hired Karl Rove as a consultant DBoon Apr 2020 #32
Release the cats dalton99a Apr 2020 #3
yikes. i guess we need to open all the drumpf properties back up them so they can get food back Takket Apr 2020 #4
From the title, I didn't know if the story was about repugs or Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #5
Let them appeal to the GOP for help. eppur_se_muova Apr 2020 #7
Good thinking. n/t rzemanfl Apr 2020 #11
Is this how the zombie apocalypse starts? Initech Apr 2020 #8
supermarkets and takeout are still going Blues Heron Apr 2020 #9
Here in Louisiana restaurants are take-out only localroger Apr 2020 #13
I'm not fond of rats coming into my yard from the field over the fence. liberalmuse Apr 2020 #10
I thought you we talking about Republicans. n/t Raven Apr 2020 #12
Same - I figured the headline used a metaphor. crickets Apr 2020 #15
I don't see a problem as long as they only eat each other. LisaL Apr 2020 #14
maybe they start eating mice. mopinko Apr 2020 #17
I'd like to hear more about your rat experience... Chiyo-chichi Apr 2020 #24
no no. i didnt invite them. mopinko Apr 2020 #42
"Cannibalism, rat battles, infantcide", they say this like its a bad thing, lol Baclava Apr 2020 #16
Oh great. So, stronger rats. The pandemic will leave us with stronger rats. Maru Kitteh Apr 2020 #18
"Working cats" to the rescue!! N/t RockCreek Apr 2020 #19
Most cats really are no match for a rat. LisaL Apr 2020 #20
I worked as a pest control operator for a large food factory years ago & dealt with a lot of rats yaesu Apr 2020 #22
They won't back off from a cat, I've seen this. Pretty damn aggressvie if you ask me! SWBTATTReg Apr 2020 #36
Dogs, not cats. Terriers are best DBoon Apr 2020 #31
We have 4 of these MissMillie Apr 2020 #41
I assumed this was about the GOP. DavidDvorkin Apr 2020 #21
Me too! SheltieLover Apr 2020 #29
The biggest reason I could never believe in a "loving God" Goodheart Apr 2020 #23
Epicurus: panader0 Apr 2020 #39
Love me some Epicurus. :) Goodheart Apr 2020 #43
I have mice in my home for the first time ever. intheflow Apr 2020 #26
We've squished two flat this week in the driveway. At night. With the truck. notdarkyet Apr 2020 #34
NYC is so densely populated, the number of bags of garbage no longer generated is significant. BeckyDem Apr 2020 #27
This is just great Lulu KC Apr 2020 #30
Damn. Who did Dartunorro Clark piss off to get sent on that assignment ? underpants Apr 2020 #33
Oh, no military rats now... N_E_1 for Tennis Apr 2020 #35
Oh!! This is about rodents. DFW Apr 2020 #37
Now I'm thinking about 'Graveyard Shift' happybird Apr 2020 #38
social darwinism of the rat world appalachiablue Apr 2020 #40

localroger

(3,603 posts)
13. Here in Louisiana restaurants are take-out only
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 10:57 AM
Apr 2020

A lot are open, but the leftover food ends up in the end purchaser's trash, not the restaurant's. Someone put up a video showing a dozen rats roaming openly in the middle of Bourbon Street. Edit: Now reading TFA I see much of it is actually about NOLA.

liberalmuse

(18,670 posts)
10. I'm not fond of rats coming into my yard from the field over the fence.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 10:45 AM
Apr 2020

But this article makes me sad.

crickets

(25,896 posts)
15. Same - I figured the headline used a metaphor.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 11:15 AM
Apr 2020

Literal hungry rats make me worry about people living on the streets.

"What we have seen is these practices are driving our rodents crazy," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a news conference late last month. "And what rodents do, they will find food, and they will find water. That puts our street homeless in dire, dire straits. And that's why I'm so laser-focused on it right now."

mopinko

(69,804 posts)
17. maybe they start eating mice.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 11:20 AM
Apr 2020

mice are the bane of my damn existence. the only time they havent vexed me was when i got a couple of rats. i dont know if they just left, or if there was war.
soon as the rats were gone, the mice came back.

sounds like a big win for me. if it cuts into the squirrel population around here, i'm golden.

Chiyo-chichi

(3,563 posts)
24. I'd like to hear more about your rat experience...
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 11:53 AM
Apr 2020

Mice are also the bane of my existence. I don't have them at my house, but I'm somehow in charge of the battle against them at a home where part of my family lives. It's a heavily wooded area and lots of mice come inside. The only time they didn't have a problem was when a black king snake took up residence in the basement.
Did you have a pair of free-roaming rats in a house? If so, were they both male or female? My fear would be that I'd swap a mouse infestation for a rat infestation.

mopinko

(69,804 posts)
42. no no. i didnt invite them.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:50 PM
Apr 2020

it was just the only time i ever had them on my property.
wish i could keep a snake in this climate, cuz i would.

when we bought this house, one thing i knew i wanted was a brick building. little did i know. the old construction techniques used in the 1900's seemed to be tailor made to give mice full access to the building once they breech the shell.
you just have to keep looking for how they get in. at first, every hole you stop up will just make them use a different hole. eventually, they get down to the biggest runs, they become obvious, and you are done. or so they tell me.

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
22. I worked as a pest control operator for a large food factory years ago & dealt with a lot of rats
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 11:42 AM
Apr 2020

One time inspecting produce crates outside the plant I cornered a nest of rats, the mother rat actually attacked my spotting mirror defending her young, she was a big mama. Did it several times and was basically at my feet. I don't think she would have backed off from a cat either.

SWBTATTReg

(21,856 posts)
36. They won't back off from a cat, I've seen this. Pretty damn aggressvie if you ask me!
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:19 PM
Apr 2020

The only good rat is a dead rat, IMHO. They spread disease, can literally chew through concrete, and are very hard to kill. I know that there will be some that advocate animal rights, but IMHO, no. They're been responsible for some of the worse plagues that have impacted humanity over the years.

You're lucky you didn't get bit when you cornered that family of rats!

DBoon

(22,285 posts)
31. Dogs, not cats. Terriers are best
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:01 PM
Apr 2020

Even the much maligned Pit Bull will go after rats with enthusiasm

MissMillie

(38,452 posts)
41. We have 4 of these
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:35 PM
Apr 2020
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/rat-terrier/

though despite their presence in our home, and the presence of a cat, we had a mouse in the house not too long ago.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
23. The biggest reason I could never believe in a "loving God"
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 11:47 AM
Apr 2020

Nature is cruel.

I've been hungry before. I've had to go without food for several days... and it's HORRIBLE.

It's heartbreaking to me that any creature on Earth would starve to death.

Now back to the "loving God" thing.... I can't recognize ANY reason why an omniscient being would devise a world where for food one animal would have to choke, rip the living flesh, or crush the skull and bones of another for food, or that any animal would starve.

If that God exists (he doesn't) here's a hearty FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE.

But I don't believe in any god(s), anyway.

panader0

(25,816 posts)
39. Epicurus:
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:22 PM
Apr 2020

Epicurus

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

― Epicurus




intheflow

(28,403 posts)
26. I have mice in my home for the first time ever.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 12:53 PM
Apr 2020

We think it might have something to do with this. Luckily, my pet patrol is on it!

notdarkyet

(2,226 posts)
34. We've squished two flat this week in the driveway. At night. With the truck.
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:04 PM
Apr 2020

We recently switched to strong plastic trash cans that keeps them pretty much out. Probably hungry.

Lulu KC

(2,547 posts)
30. This is just great
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:00 PM
Apr 2020

Now the rats.

Truly, this is now every horror film wrapped into one but with the current so-called-president dominating the picture, the rats are like extras who were behind the scenes and now they're going to take over!

I'm going to go soak my head.

While hitting refresh to see when the WI election results come.

203 days until the election. Then its aftermath. Then our deliverance.

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/election?p0=263&iso=20201103T00&msg=2020%20US%20Presidential%20Election

N_E_1 for Tennis

(9,593 posts)
35. Oh, no military rats now...
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:15 PM
Apr 2020

So that’s why the republicans won’t do gun control...brother rat needs his guns.

happybird

(4,515 posts)
38. Now I'm thinking about 'Graveyard Shift'
Mon Apr 13, 2020, 01:22 PM
Apr 2020

by Stephen King. That short story freaked me the hell out.

Edit: googled, changed name of story. ‘Graveyard Shift’ is the name of the story, ‘Night Shift’ is the name of the book of short stories it’s in.

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