"Menacing Pests" Take Over Carroll Gardens
Residents of Luquer Street in Carroll Gardens say their block has been overrun by a fearless gang of rats. “They sit there and look at you; they are not afraid,” said Lisa Demaio. The culprit? The 11-story condo development on Luquer between Clinton and Hamilton. “This is a serious health and safety issue, and there…
Residents of Luquer Street in Carroll Gardens say their block has been overrun by a fearless gang of rats. “They sit there and look at you; they are not afraid,” said Lisa Demaio. The culprit? The 11-story condo development on Luquer between Clinton and Hamilton. “This is a serious health and safety issue, and there has been little to no response – until today,” said Alison Carrabba. The developer, Moses Gross, doesn’t deny the cause, but points out that it’s a typical result of demolition. “I don’t think [extermination] will help,” he said. “Rats are not something we can control.”
Rat Invasion Angers Nabe [NY Daily News]
two tips that make sense on paper only:
1) don’t put garbage out night before. When we try this, it ends up being the morning the darn truck came crack of dawn and then we miss the pick up.
2) Get heavy-duty, lidded trash cans. We stopped using trash cans because they get stolen, plain and simple.
I’m all for rat control, but there are a lot of variables when it comes to NYC trash pickups…
It’s always about the food. And lots of people are dirty. Lots of stray cats = not too many rats. Too many stray cats = your backyard starts smelling like kitty poo. And there could be toxoplasmosis in the soil – which you could ingest if you work/play out back, grow tomatoes, etc.
For kicks – read Stephen King’s short story called “Nightshift”. It’s rat-tastic…
in ancient times people understood that rats are holy and very important for a city. They are clearvoyant and the first animals to know when a catastrophy is coming,they warn the people because they LEAVE the city.Also Rats are very social. They NEVEr leave a dead familty member and drag them with them . They are highly developped and they are in deep mourning and panick because humans destroy their living grounds.
In my country rats are called the health police because where they are they clean the streets from trash
THINK and study the old wisdom befor yoiu make wrong choices
Rats are not the problem- HUMANS are
Typical construction issue, once the nests stop being disturbed, this issue will calm down. The rats wont go away (they are all around us everyday) but their habitat will return to normal and they wont be forced out into the open.
I am curious what Bushwicker might suggest regarding trash control, which is really the only effective manner of protecting yourself.
I dont want to keep my trash inside for a week, and I doubt any brownstones have trashrooms, so…..?
I see a few brownstones with boxed-in trashcans but I believe those are for aesthetics not rat proffing. A steel version of that might be best. Of course a big steel box in front of every house on the block would freak people out.
A sealed dumpster at the end of every block? Could be cool and you could toss your trash anytime.
Ok, there are rats on my street. The problem is not horrible but they are there – sometimes more, sometimes less. I have written letters to the health dept and the rat control team, etc and the health dept’ came out and delivered all new free garbage cans to my block – supposedly ‘rat proof’ cans. I can attest that it has helped some. The way I see it, like the Buffalo story, is that if garbage is being set out on the street every other day for pickup – just out on the sidewalk – well then the rats will continue to be fed. The food source has to be eliminated – then they will go away. Talk to everyone on your block and make a pact to keep garbage ALWAYS in lidded, tight containers, even for pickup. Then give it a month and I bet the rat presence decreases. Get rid of the food and get rid of the rat. (I also read that rat book from previous post, very interesting)
I don’t know why NYC doesn’t change their sanitation removal policies. leaving the bags out there on the street overnight is such a terrible idea for any nabe. It just asks rats to come and have dinner every other day. stupid.
I live in downtown Manhattan. A few years ago, a sink hole appeared in the street in front of my building. When the city came to fix it they stuck a tiny video camera attached to a long hose into the hole and under the street. I did’t see the video, but was told by the workers that they saw thousands of rats down there — basically rat city.
I rarely see rats on the street in my neighborhood, and when I do they look drugged and about to croak. All those rats can’t be living off building refuse alone. There’s gotta be some other source of food — possibly leaking sewage — that keeps such a large thriving rat population in existence.
The grammar police is not so much grammar as it is annoyance at people who call Clinton Hill “Clinton Hills”. I think it sounds stupid too… unless you are trying to sound ‘gangsta’ or something.
Yes- demo stirs them up but if the rats food source is removed, they’ll leave. The City of Buffalo required people to change their garbage containers to a heavy lidded one that can be picked up by specially equipped trucks. They don’t require any lifting by the garbage men-just attaching and pushing a button. The totes are too thick for rats to chew into. They’re kind of like mini dumpsters. The program resulted in reducing rat complaints by 95%. After the initial cost of outfitting trucks, it saves money on manpower as well. Unfortunately for the first ring Buffalo suburbs, the rats have moved into their towns creating a big problem. So, proof that eliminating the food supply will cause rats to leave. Most people here use cans with lids they can nose into or plastic that they can chew or just set bags out overnight for early trash pick-up. That and any litter laying around is enough to keep them from finding new digs.
just get cats, they love them rats.