![Rat in NYC subway 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Rat_in_NYC_subway_3.jpg)
Rats in New York City are widespread, as they are in many densely populated areas. They are considered a
cultural symbol of the city. For a long time, the number of
rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
was unknown, and a common
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
declared there were up to five times as many rats as people. However, a 2014 study estimates that there are approximately 2 million rats in New York, which is close to a quarter of New York's human population.
The city's rat population is dominated by the
brown rat (also known as the Norway rat). The average adult body weight is in males and about in females. The adult rat can squeeze through holes or gaps wide, jump a horizontal distance of up to (or vertically from a flat surface to ), survive a fall from a height of almost , and
tread water
Treading water or water treading is what a swimmer can do while in a vertical position to keep their head above the surface of the water, while not providing sufficient directional thrust to overcome inertia and propel the swimmer in any specific ...
for three days.
New York City rats carry
pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
s that can cause
diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
,
vomiting, and
fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
in humans – especially in children. The pathogens they carry include
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
such as ''
Clostridium difficile
''Clostridioides difficile'' (syn. ''Clostridium difficile'') is a bacterium that is well known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. Also known as ''C. difficile'', or ''C. diff'' (), is Gram-positive spec ...
'' (''C. diff''), ''
Salmonella
''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...
'', ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'', and ''
Leptospira
''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, italics=yes, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney t ...
''. ''
Bartonella'' bacteria cause
cat scratch disease,
trench fever, and Carron disease. These bacteria may be spread through contact with rat
saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
,
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
or
feces
Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...
. Rats can carry disease-causing viruses such as
sapoviruses,
cardiovirus
Cardiovirus are a group of viruses within order ''Picornavirales'', family ''Picornaviridae''. Vertebrates serve as natural hosts for these viruses.
Taxonomy
There are currently six species in the genus:
* ''Cardiovirus A''
* '' Cardiovirus B'' ...
es,
kobuvirus
''Kobuvirus'' is a genus of viruses in the order ''Picornavirales'', in the family ''Picornaviridae
Picornaviruses are a group of related nonenveloped RNA viruses which infect vertebrates including fish, mammals, and birds. They are vi ...
es,
parechovirus
''Parechovirus'' is a genus of viruses in the family ''Picornaviridae''. Humans, ferrets, and various rodents serve as natural hosts. The genus currently consists of six accepted species. Human parechoviruses may cause gastrointestinal or respira ...
es,
rotaviruses,
hepacivirus
''Hepacivirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus (HCV), in species ''Hepacivirus C'', infects humans and is associated with hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. There are fourteen ...
es, and
Seoul virus
''Seoul orthohantavirus'' (SEOV) is a member of the ''Orthohantavirus'' family of rodent-borne viruses and is one of the 4 hantaviruses that are known to be able to cause Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).US Centers for Dise ...
. Rats may carry
flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
s that are vectors of diseases such as
bubonic plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
,
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
, and
spotted fever
A spotted fever is a type of tick-borne disease which presents on the skin. They are all caused by bacteria of the genus ''Rickettsia''. Typhus is a group of similar diseases also caused by ''Rickettsia'' bacteria, but spotted fevers and typhus are ...
. In addition, some people have an allergic reaction to the presence of rodent hair, urine or feces.
New York City rodent complaints can be made online, or by dialing
3-1-1
3-1-1 is a special telephone number supported in many communities in Canada and the United States. The number provides access to non-emergency municipal services. The number format follows the N11 code for a group of short, special-purpose local ...
, and the New York City guide ''Preventing Rats on Your Property'' discusses how the
New York City Health Department
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaurant inspection and enforcem ...
inspects private and public properties for rats. Property owners that fail inspections receive a Commissioner's Order and have five days to correct the problem. If, after five days, the property fails a second inspection, the owner receives a
notice of violation Notices of violation are issued from Code Enforcement by local cities or towns when properties may be contrary to local codes and regulation, vehicles are substandard, inoperable or may have constituted a public nuisance. The ordinances under which ...
and can be fined. The property owner is billed for any clean-up or extermination carried out by the Health Department.
Description
Species
Rarely seen in daylight, rats have been reported in New York City since early colonial days. As recently as 1944, two distinct species were prevalent: the
brown rat (Norway rat) and the
black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
(ship rat, roof rat). Over the next few decades, the more aggressive brown variety displaced the black rats, typically by attacking and killing them, but also by out-competing them for food and shelter.
By 2014, the city's rat population was dominated by the brown rat.
The brown rat is long and weighs .
It is brown or gray in color with a lighter-colored belly.
It is
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
, and sleeps approximately 10 hours a day.
[Ryan Bradley (April 23, 2015)]
"The Rat Paths of New York; How the city's animals get where they're going."
''The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'' The black rat is between long (not including the tail) and weighs between . It is usually black to light brown in color with a lighter-colored belly.
Population
![NYC Rat in a Flowerbox by David Shankbone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/NYC_Rat_in_a_Flowerbox_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)
Rats are elusive by nature, and public health officials have not developed any reliable way to estimate their numbers. However, a 2014 study by Jonathan Auerbach, which was reported in the
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.
...
's ''Significance'' magazine, estimated that there were closer to 2 million rats in the city. This disagrees with the often-repeated statistic that there are more rats than people in the five boroughs of New York City (8.4 million in 2014), with some estimates putting the number of rats far higher at as many as five rats per person (33.6 million).
[
In 2014, the television channel Animal Planet named New York City the "Worst Rat City in the World". Compared to other cities within the United States, studies indicate New York is particularly well-suited for rats. This conclusion is based on characteristics such as human population patterns, public sanitation practices, climate, housing construction standards and other variables. Experts consider that the actual population of rats varies, depending on climate, sanitation practices, efforts to control the population, and season.]
Genetics
Studies have repeatedly failed to find restricted gene flow
In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's rats due to the island's buildings.[
] However Combs ''et al.'', 2018 presents a more geographically detailed analysis. They find that the island's buildings ''are'' restricting gene flow, especially in Midtown.
Food and shelter
Rats only require an ounce (28 grams) of food and water a day to live. The rodents primarily find food and shelter at human habitations and therefore interact with humans in various ways. In particular, the city's rats adapt to practices and habits among New Yorkers for disposing of food waste. Curbside overnight garbage disposal from residences, stores, subway and restaurants, as well as littering, contribute to the sustenance of the city's rats. Rats nearly always use the same routes to their food sources.[ Rat infestations have increased as a result of budget reductions and more wasteful disposal of food.
Rats burrow underground or create nests in suitable soft material, with a small group of rats in each nest.][ Brown rats in New York City prefer to live at ground level or basement level.] They congregate in colonies of 30 to 50 rats.[ Rats live to from their food source.]
Habits
The rat can squeeze through holes or gaps the size of a quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement i ...
(), because unlike many mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s its skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
is not plated together so it can change the shape of its head and squeeze through a very small opening. They are able to leap laterally and can fall five floors without any injuries. An adult rat can tread water
Treading water or water treading is what a swimmer can do while in a vertical position to keep their head above the surface of the water, while not providing sufficient directional thrust to overcome inertia and propel the swimmer in any specific ...
for three days. They typically travel tight, well-worn paths.[ Each litter has up to a dozen pups. Rats can mate at the age of two or three months and then produce a new litter every two months.] The rats live for approximately one year, mostly due to predation rather than natural lifespan. They rarely travel more than from where they were born.
Disease, allergies, asthma, and damage
The greatest danger posed to humans from rats are the diseases that the latter can transmit. City-dwelling rats carry pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
s that can cause diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
and vomiting in humans. Disease-causing bacteria commonly carried by rats include ''E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'', ''Clostridium difficile
''Clostridioides difficile'' (syn. ''Clostridium difficile'') is a bacterium that is well known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. Also known as ''C. difficile'', or ''C. diff'' (), is Gram-positive spec ...
'' (''C. diff''), and ''Salmonella
''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...
''. The bacteria can be spread by contact with rat saliva, urine or feces. Viral diseases spread by rats include rat-bite fever
Rat-bite fever (RBF) is an acute, febrile human illness caused by bacteria transmitted by rodents, in most cases, which is passed from rodent to human by the rodent's urine or mucous secretions. Alternative names for rat-bite fever include stre ...
and hemorrhagic fever
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse group of animal and human illnesses in which fever and hemorrhage are caused by a viral infection. VHFs may be caused by five distinct families of RNA viruses: the families ''Filoviridae'', ''Flav ...
s caused by Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
hantavirus.
A survey conducted by Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
's Mailman School of Public Health in 2014 studied 133 brown rats from residential buildings in Manhattan. The rats carried numerous pathogens that can cause serious illness in humans, including bacteria (''Salmonella'' and ''E. coli'') that cause food poisoning
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
and dermatitis
Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can v ...
, pathogens that cause fevers (such as Seoul hantavirus and ''Leptospira
''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, italics=yes, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney t ...
''), sapoviruses, cardiovirus
Cardiovirus are a group of viruses within order ''Picornavirales'', family ''Picornaviridae''. Vertebrates serve as natural hosts for these viruses.
Taxonomy
There are currently six species in the genus:
* ''Cardiovirus A''
* '' Cardiovirus B'' ...
es, kobuvirus
''Kobuvirus'' is a genus of viruses in the order ''Picornavirales'', in the family ''Picornaviridae
Picornaviruses are a group of related nonenveloped RNA viruses which infect vertebrates including fish, mammals, and birds. They are vi ...
es, parechovirus
''Parechovirus'' is a genus of viruses in the family ''Picornaviridae''. Humans, ferrets, and various rodents serve as natural hosts. The genus currently consists of six accepted species. Human parechoviruses may cause gastrointestinal or respira ...
es, rotaviruses, and hepacivirus
''Hepacivirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus (HCV), in species ''Hepacivirus C'', infects humans and is associated with hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. There are fourteen ...
es, including some never before seen in New York.[ While at least 18 of the viruses found are known to cause disease in humans, it is unclear how infectious the rats are to residents.] Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance
EcoHealth Alliance is a US-based non-governmental organization with a stated mission of protecting people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit is focused on research that aims to prevent pandemics and p ...
, a nonprofit scientific organization that researches links between human health and wildlife, called the study "shocking and surprising". Given the close quarters shared by rats and New York City residents, he found it to be "a recipe for a public health nightmare".[
A 2015 joint study by Columbia University and Cornell University found that the rats are commonly infested with ]flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
s, lice
Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result o ...
, and mite
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...
s that carry bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
that can cause disease in humans, including bubonic plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
, typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
, and spotted fever
A spotted fever is a type of tick-borne disease which presents on the skin. They are all caused by bacteria of the genus ''Rickettsia''. Typhus is a group of similar diseases also caused by ''Rickettsia'' bacteria, but spotted fevers and typhus are ...
. They found an average of five fleas per rat, a sharp increase from a 1925 study that found one out of five rats had no fleas at all. '' Bartonella'' pathogens (which can cause cat scratch disease, trench fever, and Carron disease) and various viruses were also found in New York City's rats in this study. These results were confirmed by a study published in 2015 in the '' Journal of Medical Entomology''. A higher risk of allergies and asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
is linked to exposure to rodent hair, droppings, and urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
, especially in children.
The NYC Health Department recommends that people bitten by a rat seek immediate medical attention, as bacteria from the rat's teeth can cause tetanus as well as rat bite fever, which can be fatal.
Control
The New York City Department of Health handles enforcement of rat infestation problems in New York City. Local authorities in New York have long recognized that eliminating rats from the city is unrealistic, but have made various efforts to control their prevalence. The approach has traditionally been reactive: after receiving complaints of infestation, officials would commence control efforts at that site by placing rodent poison, traps, or contraceptives.
In recent years, the city adopted a more proactive approach to rodent control known as integrated pest management
Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the econ ...
, which focuses on preventive measures. Such efforts include developing a rodent control map using geotagging to focus countermeasures more systematically, instituting a "Rodent Control Academy" that trains city employees on rat behavior and control, and emphasizing building integrity and garbage disposal. In 2009, the Health Department began offering a half-day course in combating rat infestations. In 2010, the city cut its budget for rodent control programs by $1.5 million to help reduce an overall deficit of $2 billion.
In 2013, it was announced that New York municipal authorities would implement a plan for mass sterilization of the city's rats, using a chemical to neutralize the reproductive systems of female rats. Bait stations loaded with the chemical were to be deployed. The chemical's effects were to gradually shrink the number of kittens a female rat can have in a litter, eventually rendering them infertile.
The Upper West Side and the Upper East Side logged the most rat complaints to the Health Department from 2010 to mid-2014. In 2014 the Health Department hired 9 new inspectors to augment its staff of 45. With $611,000 in funding, the new squad was tasked with targeting major infestations in the South Bronx and Manhattan.
A private group, Ryders Alley Trencher-fed Society, conducts rat hunts in New York using dogs.
Tips
New York City property owners and managing agents are legally responsible for keeping their properties rat-free through maintenance measures and the use of pest control professionals. Conditions both inside and outside of buildings, including on public property, that contribute to or allow the establishment of rat populations constitute violations of Article 151 of the Health Code.
Maintenance measures include proper storage of garbage, removal of water sources, and elimination of environments suitable for nesting. Garbage cans need to be rat-resistant and made out of metal rather than plastic. Because rats easily chew through plastic, the Health Department recommends placing plastic garbage bags inside rat-resistant metal garbage cans. Garbage should be placed out on the street close to the pickup time, rather than the night before. It also becomes important to keep garbage that are in parks inside litter cans, and not feeding birds or any of the surrounding wildlife that could potentially attract them.
New York City publishes a guide for property owners and tenants, entitled ''Preventing Rats on Your Property: A Guide for Property Owners and Tenants'', that discusses how the Health Department inspects for rats, and how to control rats, including looking for evidence, cleaning up, starving them, shutting them out, and wiping them out. The guide covers the use of traps, rat poison, and wire mesh at the base of trees, as well as the new rules for garbage pickup, with landlords bringing out garbage in the morning immediately prior to pickup rather than the night before. Rodent baiting is suggested as an effective approach to wiping out rats.
New York City property owners and residents are advised to watch for signs of infestation like gnawed wood and plastic and evidence of rat trails. Property should be inspected to look for entry points such as gaps around pipes.
An online map created by the New York City Department of Health enables people to search specific addresses for rat issues. ''The Village Voice'' asked readers to email them about incidents of rat sightings.
Government complaints and inspections
New York City rodent complaints can be made online, by filling out the New York City Rodent Complaint Form, or by dialing 3-1-1
3-1-1 is a special telephone number supported in many communities in Canada and the United States. The number provides access to non-emergency municipal services. The number format follows the N11 code for a group of short, special-purpose local ...
.
The New York City guide ''Preventing Rats on Your Property'' discusses how the NYC Health Department, through its Pest Control Services program, inspects private and public properties for rats. Property owners that fail an inspection receive a Health Department Commissioner's Order and have five days to correct the problem. If, after five days, the property fails a second inspection, the owner receives a Notice of Violation and can be fined. If the Health Department feels it must itself exterminate or clean up the property, the property owner is billed (about $1,000 a day in 2004). Unpaid charges become a priority lien against the building, preventing property owners from selling with a clean legal title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
. Failure to comply with an order of the Commissioner is a misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
, and subjects the landlord to criminal prosecution, a fine and/or imprisonment, as well as additional civil penalties. The penalty for each rodent violation was as high as $2,000 in 2004.
In 2014, New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
Scott Stringer criticized the Health Department as "weak" in investigating and fixing residents' rat complaints. From fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2013, pest complaints, including rat problems, increased 10 percent in the city, and 24 percent of the time Health Department workers failed to inspect the complaints in the 10-day target period, an audit by the comptroller found. In 160 cases, the Health Department failed to carry out any field inspection. Caroline Bragdon at the Department of Health said: "The inspection is only as good as the inspector on that day and time. If you feel we're really missing the boat, which sometimes we do, let your community board and elected officials know."
In July 2017, the New York City government announced a $32 million rat reduction plan in which it initially aimed to reduce rat infestations by 70% by the end of 2018. The plan would alleviate rat infestations in East Village, Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
, and the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
; Concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.
The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...
in the Bronx; and Bedford–Stuyvesant and Bushwick
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
in Brooklyn. These neighborhoods were chosen because they had high numbers of rat complaints in the past. The plan included installing padding or tiling on dirt floors in the basements of apartment buildings, installing solar-powered rat-proof trash cans, as well as increased trash management.
Notable incidents
Notable restaurant infestations
In February 2007, a morning news program featured a live report of a pack of rats overrunning a joint Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...
-KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
fast food restaurant in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. Inside the restaurant, numerous rats so severely infested the restaurant that they were visible in groups from the street, through the windows. Owners of the store reassured customers that the infestation was an isolated incident, but neighborhood residents interviewed stated that the franchise had exhibited a consistent presence of rats. Though the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ordered both restaurants to stay closed, both storefronts gathered crowds, who came to observe the sheer quantity of rats inside the stores. While Health Department officials investigated the Taco Bell-KFC, it was uncovered that the restaurant had passed health inspections as recently as a week before the infestation. Following the infestation, the restaurant was officially closed by the Health Department, and it was reported that the restaurant had only previously passed health inspections by having rat droppings and not live rats, leading some to call for stricter measurements on health inspections.
Notable dwelling infestations
Rats in New York City have been observed on multiple occasions entering dwellings through plumbing and emerging from the toilet
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...
. Pest control experts say that many rats have no problem climbing through pipes. Though the most memorable incidents involve rats entering the bowl of the toilet or even leaving the toilet, it is not uncommon for them to become trapped in the pipes and die. Plumbers in New York are allegedly so used to dealing with rats in toilets, that they appear completely unfazed and even make jokes. Rats prefer means of entry which give them close proximity to food, which plumbing pipes do not, however, the change of rat behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
has caused an increase in toilet rats. Though most toilet rat infestations are facilitated by uncapped pipes, which are often not in the control of tenants, plumbers say the best way to hinder toilet rats is to leave the lid closed when not in use.
Attacks on infants
Babies are frequent victims, especially if left alone with food or a bottle. In 1860, ''The New York Times'' reported that a newborn infant had died subsequent to rats eating part of its face and one foot. The NYC Health Department undertook an anti-rat campaign in 1921 that involved rat-proofing as well as trapping and killing rats. Rats have been frequently known to have bitten infants and young children to get food off their faces.
Destruction of infrastructure
In August 2003, a fire station in Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
was condemned and demolished after rats had taken over the building. After exterminators visited the building 26 times between March 2003 and August 2003, the building was eventually evacuated and stripped after the stench of dead rats built up in the walls and ceilings. The 60 staff members of the fire station were redistributed among nearby firehouses.
In 2014, New York City Councilman Mark D. Levine
Mark D. Levine (born April 30, 1969) is an American politician and educator serving as the 28th Borough President of Manhattan since 2022. Previously, he served as member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, where he represented the ...
said at a public hearing that "We've had rats who are going into cars and eating out electrical cables. We have rats that are entering homes." He described the problem as "epidemic" on some streets in Manhattan.
In October 2020, a 33-year-old man in the Bronx fell through a sidewalk that collapsed under him into a nest of rats, an event colloquially referred to as the "New York City rat chasm". The victim was hospitalized for three weeks. Shortly following the accident, the victim filed a lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
for gross negligence
Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross negl ...
against EH & HD 183rd Realty LLC and the city of New York. EH & HD 183rd Realty LLC was charged with gross negligence for not properly maintaining the vault, and the New York City Department of Buildings was charged with gross negligence for not properly inspecting the sidewalk.
Viral videos
In 2011, a video of a rat climbing on a sleeping man's face on the subway went viral
Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...
. Rats are so common that ex-Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer quipped in 2013, "The rats don't scurry. They walk right up to you and say, 'How are you, Mr. Borough President? That year, YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
videos of rats on subway tracks and in a subway car in New York City went viral, as did videos of rats in a Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
in Manhattan. In June 2014, residents at adjacent Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
buildings started a rent strike, demanding an end to the rat problem. Also in 2014, Allerton Coops in Bronx Park East
Pelham Parkway is a working- and middle-class residential neighborhood geographically located in the center of the Bronx, a borough of New York City in the United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Waring ...
received three Notices of Violation from the Health Department and was fined for their inadequate response to a severe rat infestation.
In 2015, a YouTube video of a rat carrying a slice of pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
in the subway, dubbed " Pizza Rat", went viral. The video was trending worldwide on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
within 15 hours of the YouTube upload, garnered 5 million views within two days, and spawned similar staged videos with trained rats such as ''Selfie Rat''.
In early 2016, another video of a rat climbing on a sleeping subway rider was uploaded to social media. The uploader was criticized for his choice to film the incident and post it online rather than intervene.
Hurricane Ida depopulation event
In late 2021, Tropical Storm Ida caused severe flooding in the New York City sewer system
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and sc ...
, which was then followed by multiple reports of dozens of rat corpses washing up on the banks of bodies of water in New York. There was no official count of the number of rats living in the sewers of New York, but experts hypothesize that the flooding from Ida may have caused one of the biggest rat depopulation events in New York in decades.
See also
* Environmental issues in New York City
Environmental issues in New York City are affected by the city's size, density, abundant public transportation infrastructure, and location at the mouth of the Hudson River.
New York's population density has environmental pros and cons. It fa ...
References
External links
Rodent Complaint Form
* Video:
{{New York City
Fauna of the Northeastern United States
Healthcare in New York City
New York city rats
Mammal pest control
Urban wildlife
Biota of New York (state)
Environmental issues in New York City
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Environment of New York City