Why Cities Can’t Get Rid Of Rats
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- Living in a city does not make you any less susceptible to seeing a rat. We try really hard to get rid of these pesky pests, but they seem to always slink around some corner of an alley you are walking down. Here is the answer to why rats are so hard to get rid of from your city.
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Following is a transcript of the video:
Wormtail. Professor Ratigan. The R.O.U.S. Pop culture has given rats a bad rep. And it’s understandable why.
Take northeastern India’s rat flood. Twice a century, rats swarm when bamboo forests drop about 80 tons of seeds. After they devour the seeds, they devastate local agriculture. In the 1960s, the resulting famine was so bad, it lead to a major political uprising.
It’s no wonder that the technical term for a group of rats is a “mischief”! And they’re not just a problem for farmers. These crafty rodents are the ultimate urbanites.
Meet your average city rats: Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus. These rats live pretty much wherever we do. Especially in cities. Take New York City, for example. We don’t know exactly how many rats call the Big Apple home. But a 2014 study gave a ballpark estimate of 2 million rats.
That means for heavily-infested areas you could have several rats per person! And in some ways, rats are better suited for living in cities than people. They can climb brick walls, “tightrope walk” over telephone cables, and their incisors grow 14 inches a year. Which lets them gnaw into anything - including everywhere you don’t want them.
But their most powerful ability? Rats are clever. Too clever. Scientists have shown that rats can learn to use tools. And when offered the choice between a chocolate and freeing a trapped friend. Rats chose to free their friend over chocolate!
Translate those smarts to the real world and rats easily avoid traps. Trying to poison them won’t help much either. Rats are extremely patient when it comes to new foods. They’ll taste just a tiny portion at first, wait to see if that food makes them sick and only then, consume the rest if it’s safe.
This is called “delayed learning” and it’s why rats are notoriously difficult to poison. Plus, they can develop resistance to many poisons over time so even outwitting them might not work in the long run.
Another major issue is that rats reproduce quickly. A single doe usually has 8-12 pups every 8 weeks! And those babies can have pups of their own after only 5 weeks!
So as long as they have access to food, rat populations will rebound from just about any attack. The only attack they can’t handle is improved sanitation.
And cities are using that to their advantage. In 2017, for example, New York City launched a $32 million war plan against its rats. Eliminate 70% of the rats in its 10 most-infested neighborhoods.
The plan is simple. Cut off their food source.
You see, NYC produces around 33 million tons of trash a year - more than any other city on Earth! The trash piles aren’t getting any smaller but the city can at least make it harder for rats to reach by replacing traditional trash compactors with a mailbox style opening.
Will NYC succeed by the end of 2018, as proposed?
Judging from the thousands of years where rats came out on top it sounds a tad optimistic.
While wild rats are problematic pests, pet fancy rats are another story. They don’t spread disease and are social, smart, and easily trainable.
And get this, one amazing study found that rats giggle when you tickle them! 
Наука
![Megan Thee Stallion - Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba) [2024 London Performance]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pxTCJUuorKc/mqdefault.jpg)
Rat: *Sees heavily infested area*
Rat: "It's free real estate."
this doesn't even make sense
Strobilus you just don’t get memes
Rat: *Sees old house*
Rat: "It's free real estate
yes
more like Why America Can’t Get Rid Of Fascism And Of Economic liberalism
I had a history teacher who once worked in a grocery store in which a huge (h u g e) rat lived. He and his coworkers named him Ragnar.
Venus Gillespie rock
there once was a hero named ragnar the rat
Who came riding to Whiterun from old Rorikstead
They missed the chance to name him Ratnar
Dope
Video: Rats reproduce so quickly!
Cockroach: Hold my beer
Actually, it’s
Mice: hold my beer
@@unicornnumber1987 but mice are rats-
69 likes
ℕ 𝕀 ℂ 𝔼
@@zskemtal1477 nah mices will run when they hear something but rats will jump on you if you were to even try to back up.
@@zskemtal1477 they are not
So rats are loyal af and smarter than most ppl.
They're also cannibals.
Amen i love rats and prefer them to most people. Im gettg 3 boys soon...after having had 17 rats over the years they love you unconditionally crave your attention show you appreciation and are beautiful clean and funny furkids ratmum zan xo
So are people and many other species!
Re cannibalism
@@zanleisavnieks3746 Your house is stinky as hell, just to let you know
I live in yee old "rat free" Alberta. I've honestly never seen one in my 23 years of being an Albertan.
Chantelle Marie good for you,they are disgusting,not the pet ones tho
the falmiri keeper of knowlegde I would like to get a pet rat but unfortunately they're highly illegal here.
i live in alberta too. the first time i saw a rat while traveling in the states i didnt realize what it was, thought it was a big mouse lol
I'm 35 and have only saw a rat at my friend's house down in Montana, it poked its head out of a hole in the wall in the bathroom.I noped the hell out of there! My friend and her family couldn't figure out why I was freaking out, and wouldn't belive me about the whole rat-free thing until I told them to look it up on the internet
I do too sweetie
Who you gonna call Rat Busters
How's life in Chaldea
Its Who ya gamma call.........Rat busters
No this is Patrick No, you call insurance. Stupid what you said...
A *mink* is a predator of rats. A very good one at that.
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!
you know what *GRABS SHOTGUN*
@@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe >This
GRABS MY CHAIR TO STAND ON CAUSE IM SCARED OF THEM
Never seen a rat here. I live in Alberta Canada. Either we have a great plan, or the cold is working wonders!
It is due rigorous patrolling at the borders by a rat patrol. If they spot a rat at a farm near the border, they spring into action. The cold is problem for rats , as they do well in Winnipeg . Winnipeg is not a tropical paradise in the winter ! Yes I have lived in both provinces .
same here brother
alberta is one of the only rat free places in the world :)
I bet the cold is kicking their behinds
We just need more cats
More like...
*A cat army*
Pro Player 1⃣ Nobody gets this reference... This makes me sad.
Justus Vloggerman
Sad :(
Cats are a big issue. Since cats are destroying the wildlife.
Wait...won't we just have a ton of cats infesting everything? What do we do then? =D
Or owls
Me: *Watches movies about rats that are animated* Me: "Awh.."
Me: *Sees a rat in my house or on the streets* Me: *SCREECH* "GET THAT S* OUT OF HERE AHH, THAT THING COULD HAVE RABIES!"
Me during Prisoner of Azkaban: Huh okay nice plot twist
Me afterwards: GET ALL THE F*** OUT OF HERE!
Shouta Todoroki Dogs and humans can have rabies too. Ik this is just a joke , but rats and many other "roadkill" animals dont just automatically have rabies. Its an awful and painful disease.
Todo-Chan Rats don’t have rabies pretty much ever. Prey species die from rabies quickly and then thus don’t have time to infect others before succumbing to it themselves. Predatory species like raccoons and skunks are the ones that can carry rabies without outward signs
Rats don’t carry rabies. Fact.
Poof, I blocked all holes where the rats travel into our house, we used Toxic cement, and it helps really well.
What would happen if a dog or cat licked the cement
@@redwing1766 natural selection lmfao
@@fakefacemcfakename1756 💀”natural”
@RedWing maybe three layered wall. One toxic between two normal or smtn
They just moved to neightbore house
I live in Jersey & I've seen them up close the size of fully grown cats!
I'd like to buy two please.
Ay tone, you hearing dis? The balls on dis guy.
Last summer in Cleveland you could see rats running around freely on Public Square which is right infront of Tower City. You could see them in groups of 5 or more we were scared to stand at the bus stop.
Jerry is the only mouse I love
Ishika - jerry is an asshole
No thanks he is a jerk
Mice are apparently more stupid than rats.
Yes Jerry is awesome
What about Mickey?
Lil wayne once said
"all rats gotta die even master splinter"
Lil wayne for president
Alberta “hold my beer”
Greenland & Iceland: Amateur.
I have rats in my school so yes I know how they sounds like when you tickle them
Fluffy Doggo
my rats don’t like it when you tickle them so whenever they like-
steal fruit from each other or-
steal chicken from each other (i feed them a lot of things)-
i know the best punishments >:)
I like how you say in the beginning of the video that rats have a bad rep from the media, then proceed to play scary and creepy music while putting out facts about rats on the board. Nice, Two-Face.
"Why cities can't get rid of rats?"
Ratatouille Fans: cuz theyll cook us Food-
GET RID OF THEM I HAVE ONE IN MY ROOM AND I CAN'T SLEEPPP😡
XfanDearikk Trammell uhhhh WTF
How do you have a rat in your room????
Have you tried getting a divorce?
I’m so sorry ;(
get a big glue trap. and then throw that shit in the garbage.
I guess you just can't
eRATicate them.
Justus Vloggerman 🤣🤣🤣😑...
Justus Vloggerman raticate
They're perfect organisms with no weaknesses.
I don’t laugh at anything but this made me laugh thank you lmao
Mr . frog Not even the Rat Busters comment? Haha
i remember like 5 years ago, when i was sleeping in my parents house and they woke me up because of a rat.
I'm sitting here with my pet rat😂
When you just wanted to bite one person but end up killing 25 million people across Europe
Every one knows that the mailbox style trash bins are to discourage homeless trash pickers from being in the area. That's why you only find them in tourist destinations and everywhere else in the city has normal trash bins. The rats are a nice excuse.
wiidiwii excuse? Or maybe actually trying get rid of rats lol
No one wants rats or homeless, so that is just a bonus side effect.
Easiest way to get rid of the homeless is a hot meal, a one way bus ticket to Washington DC and $50 spending money. Let the politicians deal with them. :)
Bums are human-sized rats.
Blood Angel your a piece of shit probably won't even spare change then to top it off you won't even let them eat from the trash your a real pile of crap, and really show who you are as a person.
The rat save the univeres in avengers endgame
Cats are just waiting for the government to give them a call
“Why cities can’t get rid of rats”
Alberta has entered the chat
Greenland has entered the chat
Iceland has entered the chat
Rats united
Albert? What’s that?
@@nousername5673 alberta is a province In Canada. It’s the larges rat free area that is has humans. I live there
@@dumbmerm9799 Ohh.. Alberta. I am from there as well!
2:48 him:they will rebound from any attack
Me asking a question: what about a nuke?
Rat them out
I live in a place that's been free of rats for 50 years, more or less (every few years one or 2 will be found near the border, but they are quickly eradicated). I've never seen a wild rat here in my life and I am in my 30's. Rat control is entirely possible, even in city environments, you just need to be adamant and meticulous in your procedures.
Link so you can see what I am talking about: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rat#Alberta
Lemme guess it’s Alberta
@@uriah9645 what gave it away? Was it the link I included that says "Alberta" right in the title?
@@TheLewisLightning I’m from Alberta and I know
@@TheLewisLightning that’s great but it’s mostly because of the geography of Alberta. But .when a few rats found a way into Alberta, Alberta did eradicate them but in the process killed thousands of farm animals.
boats cant get to alberta to constantly bring rats in, god canadians are so stupid
Me: They look cute.
Everyone in existence: *????*
They ARE cute
The term for baby rats are actually kittens, not pups. I'm also glad you added the part to the end about fancy rats, there are too many bad stereotypes.
Alberta, Canada has no rats at all
"Why cities can't get rid of rats."
Alberta, Canada: "Hold my beer, eh."
The Canadian province of Alberta got rid of rats
I live in Alberta it's to cold for rats
Um sorry but you are incorrect! Some rats came from NORWAY which is colder than Alberta
r/gatekeeping
@@somekidkekasuars7881 it's actually wayyy colder in Saskatchewan (they don't get those nice chinooks that keep our temperature a little higher) and they have LOTS of rats! So it's not the cold, it was a *massive* campaign by Alberta politicians back in 1950 that still runs to this day. Quite the accomplishment I'd say....
@@imoneixusa9742 You're no climatologist. Norway is much warmer than Alberta. The Avg January temp of Norway is 3 to -6 degrees Celsius. The Avg January temp of Alberta is -5 to -15 degrees Celsius.
HANS! HANS GET ZE FLAMMENWERTHER!!
I love rats, there so smart. If I see one near my house I feed it an orange piece and if they don't want it I give them a slice of apple or banana.
But it's not that common to see a rat nearby.
i’m from new jersey and visit new york often, i’ve still never seen rats outside of pet stores
My Pet Rat: *Dont even think about clicking that video*
lmao same, i feel guilty having my ratties watch this video with me-
I think it was in futurama where they had an owl problem because they just set a bunch of owls out to kill the rats and then nothing killed the owls
Pearce Packman how are owls a problem tho?
Iunno, Alberta does a good job. Sometimes they slip in but when 3 being spotted is a major news story...
thank god you added the fancy part i was kinda pissed till you did 😂😂😂 i love my fancy ratties and the wild ones aren’t that bad i really do blame humans and i’m proud of my rat friends ☺️
Used to have some as pets. Loved my ratties!:)
Wtf Bombay doesn't even have 10 million tons of trash... the entire city seems to be in trash here?? 🤪
Yeah, but the difference is NYC disposes of its trash on a weekly basis through sanitation infrastructure. Whereas, in Mumbai, today's trash sits atop this week's trash which sits atop last week's trash which sits atop last month's trash which sit atop last year's trash which goes all the back to 1500 BC, when trash was first invented.
no trash pick up day in India :-(
your an idiot
Good point. NYC has an incredibly robust sanitation system, there's really no need to cut down on municipal waste except to appease the tree-huggers.
David Boucard
Lmao, seriously man!! 🤣👍🙌
Buy a CAT
Cats don’t do shit.
Your cat can be eaten by rats,if they will be 1to5,10
giorgi chachua not a street cat. a pet cat that also might be neutred is not a true cat anymore. Cats have bigger & sharper claws, bigger teeth and also weigh more. The thing is a house cat has no urge to fight only to play since he gets fed by human.
Here in Canada, the only city I've ever personally seen with that many rats is Montreal:
but no matter how bad MTL could ever get, Toronto must be infinitely worse!
1:50 “The rats chose to save their friend over chocolate”
Me: **feeling guilty as hell because I would choose chocolate**
Pet rats are surprisingly cute and make great companions.
How's all that bedding on your floor
At the end of the video, they said rats are smart, affectionate, etc. But both wild and pet rats are both rats. So if pet rats are very intelligent, then so are wild ones. Wild ones just want to survive.
Got a rodent running across my room at this moment.
Scientific names for animals sound like magical spells XD
Damn true.
1:04 good to see Los Angeles isn’t on there
It will soon.. homeless population
Thank you for the closing statement on pet rats. People always focus on the rat bad over the rat good. It's fascinating learning of their ancestors, the pest rats, and helps us understand how to handle our pets better. My kiddos are getting some bricks to climb!
I hope you know that once a rat tastes human blood, it goes ape shit crazy for it... hope that works out for you.
God, the rats in my kitchen are too smart for the traps :(
Alberta: “Hold my oil”
Narrator: Rats are smart
Rat: *Runs into spring activated deathbox without any hesitation*
Rat trap?
There’s a thing called iq
I have 3 rats they are really smart and sweet but i dint think they would be good and kinda annoying in the cities but they just try to live
All other cities: I have a lot of rats in streets!
Istanbul: Haha cats go brrrr
B
*Anywhere they can get to*
Rats: it's free real istate
Idk why I feel like rats make places fun idk why it’s so random
thanks for pointing out how pet rats are great their the best, & how intelligent & empathetic rats are
Why Cities Can’t Get Rid Of Rats ?
_Laughs in Alberta_
Oh and i suggest looking up Rat trap buckets, so satisfying.
I live in NYC & have pet rats. They're smarter than my cat (who is afraid of them) & they clean themselves 3 to 4 times more often than the cat. They're very friendly. Rats have gotten a lot of bad press for millenia when they're not evil vermin like they're made out to be. They actually prefer to eat vegetarian but will eat anything. People should realise they aren't the horrible creatures that we are taught that they are. If you want to think of an evil animal think of the Babboon, & people keep them as pets.
How did you manage to train your cat not to eat the rats?
I allowed the mom rat freedom to go where she wanted & she took to chasing after the cat when she saw he'd run from her. She showed the babies that he'd run from them. Also the mom did manage to bite the cat once & he learnt they can hurt him. I always picked up the cat though if the rats tried triple teaming him & put him someplace high. So he learned to give them space & just jump up on stuff if they came after him
The #1 reason they "get bad press" is because a lot of them have diseases...
Rats themselves don't carry diseases nearly as much as the fleas and ticks that often hitch rides on them do.
So do u play with the subway rats?
I Guarantee you New York has more than 2million rats.
My hats off to rats, I wouldn't choose saving a friend over chocolate, especially if it were dark chocolate truffles.
I know someone who trained a rat to kill roaches, months later others rat were purposely seeking roaches
I like the comment at the end about pet rats being different. I had two pet rats and they were terrific pets. Kinda frighteningly intelligent though. I remember that if you put a jar of peanut butter in their cage (with the lid only barely loosened) they would work together, one on each side of the lid and turn it until it came off. .......i remember thinking.....ohhh ok.....these things are god damn intelligent. They could even be trained to use a LITTER BOX which is why I let them run around my house for an hour free for exercise (but the damn boy kept pissing other places to mark his territory).
and yet, once they taste human blood it's their favorite thing in the world. yeah.
Improved sanitation and cats. They can't handle cats
We'll have you seen Tom and Jerry?
@@Playerofakind u right. They have evolved
I HAVE A CAT AND LITERALLY I STILL HAVE SOME RATS RUNNING AROUND MY KITCHEN AT NIGHT.
I love this!
How long do they tend to wait when they're testing new food to see if it makes them sick? Seems like you could just use a poison that won't start working for a while, if that exists.
Weird. I only see normal trashcans here in New York City.
*Teach them martial arts*
Which are worse roaches or rats ?
Rattus rattus? What's next, cattus cattus and doggus doggus?
*Bionic plague has joined the chat*
Deploy the Urban foxes!
This made me itchy
Never had to deal with any sort of rat before
Pet rats - love of my life
Wild rats - I'll pass
I have had domesticated pet rats for over 25 yrs but I came to fall in love with the half-wild babies from a white female rat who someone tossed outside and she got pregnant by a wild rat. She was found and brought to me. She had babies and they are so clean! I can't handle them bc they're too skittish (their wild genes), but they never pee or poop in their hammocks or beds! Only on the lower level pan which makes it easy for me to clean the cage. They don't smell either. I like them better now than domestic rats.
Rats make amazing pets!
ziljin 🤢🤮
Yea they pretty cute
So, how did that plan worked out?
0:12 this happens in the Lushai hills area. Its called Mautam (pronounced Mautraam)
Will they still choose their friend over drugs?
lol
blue SNOT I don't think so
Chocolate produces dopamine, which is the same thing that makes many drugs addictive; therefore, they probably would.
I love rats
Me too. They’re sociable, intelligent, tough. I don’t get why people love pigeons but hate rats.
**Waits anxiously for Skaven reference*
Rats have a great popularity. Mickey, splinter, Jerry... Pinky and brain
Rats will be our overlords one day.
I love rats tbh
Their amazing
I have 2 pet rats :]
SAME
Nine ratties here! :D
First of all you're gross second of all learn the difference between they're and their and there.
Use huge glue traps if the poison food doesn't work.
Well the mascot of Chuck E Cheese was originally a rat until the full redesign of 2012.
This is why community colonies of Cats, like in Turkey, just make sense.
Alberta, Canada doesn't need cats cause they're not lazy.
Look at the map:
www.vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/rats.png
I totally agree the pet rat's are great. Those creatures are smarts !!..and OMG how fast they reproduce 🤔. Us humans are going to be dead way before the rat's will.
Paivi Project nah.
rats gone die with us
😂😂😂
Rats will be the next species to rule the world!
Liljatupsu/Lilytuft they already do we're just too arrogant to recognise this.
Rats! Rats! We're the rats! We stalk at night, we prey at night, we're the rats! I'm the biggest rat that makes all of the rules! Let's see what kind of trouble we'll get ourselves into.
*oh! thanks for showing my classmates.*
I've raised domesticated rats - different from their wild cousins, of course, but they're damn smart. You can teach them to chew on toys instead of furniture, to come when you call their name, and play games, and they pretty much potty-train themselves. I didn't even need a cage, I let them roam free. One even slept under my pillow and licked my nose in the morning to wake me up. They're like smart, tiny dogs with ADHD.
Oh yeah, and they LOVE being tickled.
Rats arent the big deal but cockroches is what i hate
👍
Heroboom562 don't live in SF, I heard they got a roach problem...
Rats Spead one of the most deadly diseases in Human history killing 25 million people in Europe that was 60% of Europes population at the time. I think you forgot that part of History.
Jarid Gaming not rats. The fleas and lice that spread the plague lived on humans and anything else just fine too.
Also, rats indirectly carried diseases through cities for years before the bubonic plague, but none of those spread nearly as well. Humans spreading the fleas to other humans spreads them faster than rats ever could.
Me too
The problem with those poisons is the rats can eat or drink them however after doing so they can take them back to their hideout spot,an out of sight or hard to reach area and die there which makes getting rid of dead rat carcass even harder.
How about cats? Maybe support the already existing straw cats so that they grow in number and deal with the rats?
a b outdoor/stray cats always devestate the bird population- they are the #1 killer when it comes to birds
Hehe XD They also kill rats though and I wonder how many endangered species of birds live in NYC
In THEORY it sounds like a good idea. However, whenever we have tried to control animal population by increasing/introducing/limiting a specific species, it USUALLY backfires.
well, its NATURE
you win some, you loose a tiny bit