Rats in New York City

Like many densely populated areas, New York City has a prevalence of rats. Politicians and health authorities actively pursue policies and programs to manage the rat population.

History
Though they are rarely seen in daylight and congested areas, rats have been reported in New York since early colonial days. As recently as 1944, three distinct varieties were prevalent: brown rat, ship rat (black rat), and roof rat; over the next few decades, the more aggressive brown variety displaced the two others, typically by attacking and killing them.

Prevalence
Because rats are elusive by nature, public health officials have not developed any reliable way to estimate the prevalence of rats in the city. An often-repeated statistic is that there are more rats than people in the five boroughs of New York City (8.3 million), though some estimate the number as far higher, as many as four rats per person (32 million).

Studies indicate that within the United States, the city is particularly well-suited for rats, taking into account such variables as (human) population patterns, public sanitation practices, climate, housing construction standards, etc. However, experts consider that the actual population varies, depending on climate, sanitation practices, efforts to control the population, and season.

Behavior
Rats primarily find food and shelter within human habitation 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 disposal from residences, stores, and restaurants, as well as littering, contribute to the sustenance of the city's rats.

Rats have shown the ability to adapt to efforts to control them, and rat infestations have increased as a result of budget reductions, more wasteful disposal of food, etc. Rats in New York have been known to overrun restaurants after hours, crawl up sewer pipes and into apartments through toilets. They have also attacked homeless people, eaten cadavers in the city morgue, and bitten infants to get food off their faces. In 2003, a fire station in Queens was condemned and demolished after rats had taken over the building. In 2007, a morning news program featured a live report of a pack of rats overrunning a pair of fast food restaurants in Greenwich Village.

Control
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 target control efforts at that local site by placing rodent poison.

In recent years, however, the city has adopted a more proactive and strategic approach to rodent control known as integrated pest management, by focusing 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; emphasizing building integrity and garbage disposal, etc. In 2010, the city cut its budget for rodent control programs by $1.5 million to help reduce an overall deficit of $2 billion. It is unclear how this will affect the rat population in the city.