New York: what life is like in a city infested with rats (and what is the latest strategy to end them)

Think of a way to exterminate rodents and surely it has already been tried in New York. Poison, traps, dry ice, hunting dogs, drowning devices. The efforts have been titanic, but the rats are still there. They move calmly, almost defiantly, with the confidence that comes from having survived countless extermination attempts for hundreds of years. According to “The New York Times”, authorities and residents have spent more than 350 years trying to end the most recognizable plague in the city.

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But now the effort is no longer focused on the form of extermination, but on the exterminator. Eric Adams, mayor of the metropolis and sworn enemy of these rodents, announced at the beginning of December the search for a “director of rodent mitigation”, a position that was quickly baptized in the press as “anti-rat czar”.

“If you have the spirit, determination and killer instinct to fight New York’s relentless rat population, then the job of your dreams awaits.”Adams wrote on Twitter.

There’s NOTHING I hate more than rats.

If you have the drive, determination, and killer instinct needed to fight New York City’s relentless rat population—then your dream job awaits.

Read more: https://t.co/ybNxcJeJP7

— Major Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) December 1, 2022

It’s serious work, and the salary shows it: between $120,000 and $170,000 a year to take on the rats of the Big Apple, which, as the job posting reads, are cunning, voracious and prolific. “They are known for their legendary ability to survive, but they do not rule the city. We do that”reads the campaign slogan, though many residents aren’t so sure.

difficult coexistence

Rodents are a serious public health problem in New York, where it is said that there are as many rats as humans (8.5 million inhabitants). And the problem is increasing. Various official reports suggest that the situation has worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

César Fernández-Chávez, a Peruvian living in downtown Manhattan, was walking down the street a few days ago when he found a box full of rats. “Rats have always been in the streets, the subway, the garbage cans, but in recent years the number has increased a lot. I have to make noise if I walk on a narrow sidewalk and there are garbage bags to prevent them from coming out”, he comments.

A few years ago, “horrible episodes” with these animals made him leave the expensive apartment he rented in the heart of the Big Apple. “They brought an exterminator, but it didn’t work. They were everywhere, it got to a point where I said ‘I’ve had enough’. I broke my lease and got out of there because I didn’t live in peace”.

Everyone who knows me knows one thing: I hate rats.

Thanks to the team at @NYCSanitationwe’re going to keep our city squeaky clean. pic.twitter.com/I2vIduFnlx

— Major Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) October 17, 2022

trash and pessimism

Carolina del Pilar Rivera, who lives in Manhattan and is a hotel restaurant and bar manager, says that during the pandemic most restaurants had to build their premises outdoors, which attracted more rodents in search of food. “A while ago I worked at a restaurant in Times Square that was built outside and every time we seated people we had to stomp really hard to make sure there were no rats.“, remember.

New York asks residents to help with garbage management. (Photo: AFP) (DON EMMERT /)

The garbage in the streets is key to the problem. For this reason, the city has approved regulations this year to reduce the time that garbage can remain outdoors and other measures that include fines. Despite this, pessimism prevails.

Abdullah Ayasun, a journalist based in the city, affirms that the problem is entrenched. “There are many restaurants and shops. And the rats feed on the garbage outside. I have no illusions. Even if you put a tech wizard in charge, I don’t see how this could be resolved quickly. It’s hard”, he points out.

Rivera assures that, unfortunately, the rats seem to be a symbol for the city. “Just like the garbage and the different kinds of smells that New York has, but still, it’s still one of the best cities in the world.”.

Source: Elcomercio