NYC Ramps Up War Against Rats Amid Record-High Sightings
New York City is aiming to tackle rat issues following a summer uptick and social media attention. Credit: Alexas Fotos via Pexels
As rats run rampant in New York City, local officials have ramped up their “war on rats” – a war that city mayors have waged for decades to no avail. With rat sightings at record highs, the city is experimenting with new ways to tackle the infestation.
According to Curbed, there are now an estimated 3 million rats in New York City — a 50 percent increase from just a decade ago. The report, conducted by a pest-control company, used rat-sighting data from 2022 and 2023 and built off of a previous study by statistician Jonathan Auerbach, as reported by Curbed.
Rats are more than just an aesthetic problem; they can spread diseases, contaminate food and cause real damage to homes.
The New York City Health Department points out a few of the concerns raised by rats on their website: “Their gnawing and burrowing can cause damage and they can contaminate food, spread disease and reduce our quality of life.”
Rats can eat most home building materials, like insulation and wood, causing damage to the structure and its stability. In addition, they can chew through electrical wires, an issue that has been reported as the cause of many house fires.
They also carry dozens of diseases that can spread either by the rat releasing bodily fluids, waste and through ticks that are in the rat’s hair.
According to the CDC, some of these diseases include Hantavirus, which acts more like a cold. However, rats can also carry more serious diseases like monkeypox, salmonella, rat bite fever and Lyme disease. These diseases often cause greater levels of sickness, long-term damage and even death.
Before this recent surge, Mayor Eric Adams appointed public school official Kathreen Corradi into the role of Rat Czar, dedicated purely to reducing the number of rats in New York City. Corradi’s plan is to understand the network of rats in New York City, and to use that data to better flush the rats out and exterminate them if necessary.
During a speech last spring, Corradi remarked, “You’ll be seeing a lot more of me — and a lot less rats.”
These health concerns are somewhat sidelined due to the rise of social media’s awareness and general exploitation of the increase in rats. “RatToks” are TikToks that are made specifically about the rat sightings in New York City.
One account in particular — @NYC_kb — as of Sept. 8 has made over 30 RatTok videos, each video receiving over 20,000 views. The most popular RatTok on this account has 1.9 million views.
While the creator encourages watchers to call 311 (the phone number for non-emergencies around the city) to report the rats, many of the comments instead make jokes or make light of the situation at hand.
There are also a number of walking tour agencies making “rat tours” to bring people to the most rat infested areas of New York City, making a profit off of this phenomenon. The Guardian noted how this, “rat tourism is fast becoming a boom industry.”
While the overall number of rat sightings and RatToks trend will lessen due to the upcoming winter season causing many rats to go back underground, the effectiveness of Corradi’s initiative will be seen in the coming years.