Exterminators have come and gone in the New York City subway system and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NY MTA) has tried a variety of tactics to halt the rodent problem that exists under the bustling city streets.  Nothing has worked to date as is evidenced if you take a visit to the trash collection rooms within the subway system.  There you will find a thriving group of rats feasting on a seemingly never ending buffet of goodies.  In addition to exterminators, the NY MTA has tried reinforcing the trash room doors and has been using mint flavored trash bags which are supposed to repel the pests.  No matter the tactic used, disease ridden rats continue to find their way to the dinner table.

Help is on the way thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the National Institute of Health according to Australian News on March 28, 2013.  SenesTech is conducting a study in New York’s subway system to see if they can help to reduce the rat population by administering birth control drugs to rats.  The research company is targeting four subway stations with known rat populations. Rats that eat the birth control drug will experience rapid sterilization.

According to reports, the rats have a choice of eating birth control laced bait that is placed in both liquid and solid forms.  So far the rats are more prone to slurp up the liquid bait than the solid bait.  In addition, workers at the subway stations report that the rats have a particular fondness for lattes, Chinese food, and pepperoni.  The current bait is a flavorless mixture of salt, sugar, and fat, but SenesTech is not opposed to adding specific flavors to the bait concoction to achieve more successful results.

If the rat population does diminish or is miraculously eliminated, will there be a new bait that will be created for Manhattan pest control professionals to use throughout the city?  Only time will tell.

Manhattan pest control professionals have received an abundance of calls from home and business owners that are concerned about the number of rats running amuck in their neighborhood.  Rats are no stranger to New York City and all of the surrounding areas, but in recent months, it seems like these pesky critters are coming out of the woodwork.  There has not been a massive rat population explosion, but there is an explanation as to why there are more sightings of the pests and why more rats are entering businesses and homes of late.

It’s been months since the flood waters raced through the subway tunnels that run under New York City.  Manhattan pest control professionals believe that the massive amount of flood waters dumped into the subway tunnels killed some of the rats residing down below, but not enough to put a dent in the head-count that plagues the city.  Sick rats, older rats, and mothers and their babies likely succumbed to the raging waters of Hurricane Sandy.  Healthier tunnel dwelling rats were likely out foraging for food when the water arrived.  It is widely believed that the majority of those rats headed up the stairs to drier land.

So where did those rats end up?  Some found their way into a small crevice where they made their new home. Some rats took to digging underground where they could easily escape the soggy soil just by digging deeper.  Some rats found their way inside apartments, restaurants, and other types of businesses.

As the streets were littered with trash, it provided the perfect feasting opportunities for hungry rats.  The lack of sanitation service, in combination with the restaurants and homes in need of disposing of spoiled food, also provided ample food supplies for the massive amounts of rats that immediately, and currently, plague the city.

Rats are a difficult pest to gain control over as they are prolific breeders. They carry a variety of different diseases which will often cause serious illnesses or death in humans.  Call a Manhattan Pest Control professional for help with rat eradication.

New York City is not the only place where rat populations have taken a strong-hold.  Once rats move into any area, they are a particularly hard pest to control without extensive efforts by a rat control expert report Manhattan pest control professionals.

NBCMiami.com reported on November 15, 2012 that the beautiful landscaping, vegetation, and wildlife of the Galapagos Islands are under serious attack by Norway and black rats.  These rats are not native species to the island; rather they were introduced on accident via buccaneers and whaling ships dating back to the 17th Century.  Several centuries later and the non-native rats are completely out-of-control as they do not have any significant prey to keep their population in check.

According to reports, officials in the Galapagos Islands have decided that enough is enough, the invasive island rats must go as they are destroying natural habitat and feeding upon wildlife.  Giant tortoises, snakes, lava lizards, eggs, hatchlings, hawks, iguanas, as well as many varieties of plant life have fallen prey to these fast multiplying invasive rats.

The massive killing of the rats is being dubbed “ratmageddon”.  Hundreds of millions of rats on one island were targeted on November 14, 2012 with nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison which was dispersed throughout the island from helicopters.  The special poison was developed by the US company, Bell Laboratories, which created light blue cube sized poison squares. The squares are said to disintegrate in a week or so and are not believed to harm other types of island wildlife.  Because of the anticipated mass-kill, the poison was created to contain a “strong anti-coagulant that will make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days without a stench.”

Maybe these poison blue cubes will prove to be fruitful and perhaps the EPA will approve their use on cities with rat infestation problems as well.

Continuing from Monday…

Although revered and pampered in India, wild rats are despised of in America by most people.  Rats are considered to be dirty rodents that are infested with fleas, ticks and other harmful parasites.  They are also known to transmit a variety of diseases to humans.

History reports that rats have been a problem in America dating back to at least 1738.  The rat problem was so bad in Boston, , that MA in 1741, officials paid a reward for every dead rat that was brought in.  In total, Boston residents killed off a whopping 8,418 rats!

Here are some interesting rat facts:

• Unlike the mice, which are able to flatten their body, rats are only able to contort their body to fit into small spaces to gain entry.  Rats are able to squeeze into spaces as small as a quarter.

• The skull of a rat measures only 12 millimeters, but it is considered to be a very intelligent and adaptable animal.

• Rats need about 1 ounce of food each day to survive.  They will eat mostly anything, including cat and dog feces.

• Rat burrows are always close to the surface, never deep down below the surface.

• The name “rodent” means “gnawing animal”.  All rodents must gnaw on items to grind down their always growing incisor teeth.

• Norway rats did not actually come from Norway.  These rats are believed to have arrived in Europe hundreds of years ago via shipped cargo from China.

• Like humans, rats live in families.  Those families of colonies number up to 50 rats.  Rat colonies that join together are called populations.

• Forty seven percent of all rodents on earth are rats!

• Most types of rats can swim up to 72 hours straight without stopping.

Because of their diversity in their behaviors, NYC rats can be hard to eradicate without the help of a NYC pest control professional.  Hiring a licensed pest control expert with experience in rat elimination is paramount to getting rid of these creatures that lurk in the dark.

When most people think about rats they think of them living in massive hordes in dark places, piled high on top of each other.  Rats, although disgusting to most people, are interesting to some that study their behaviors.  Rats are the third most successful species of mammal on the planet report NYC pest control professionals.  Humans take the number one slot of course, and mice take the number two slot.

Like humans, rats are diverse and unfortunately for home and business owners who would like to eliminate them, they are intelligent as well.  In an attempt to kill rats, some people have made the mistake of throwing down rat poison or traps.  These methods have not worked well because these social animals learn and plan their activities and pathways.

Different types of rats feed upon different types of food sources.  For example, the “Hudson River Rats”, are able to swim and feed off of fish.  The “Ocean Rats” live along the jetties in Brooklyn and gobble up shellfish.  Barn rats nest in hay and feed off of grain of barn animals.  “Sewage rats”, which is otherwise known as the Norway rat, the Hanover rat, or brown rat, is the most common type of rat.  It can be found on every continent except Antarctica.  Sewage rats congregate where humans do and will feed upon any type of food source that it finds.  Roof rats are known as the black rat.  Roof rats can be found on the eastern and western parts of the United States.  They prefer warm climates and will feed upon, spiders and worms, fruits, vegetables, pet foods, nuts and grains.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion.