In New York, there are two times more rats than people

The news, thundered in the urban media, shocked the people of New York. It turned out that in the metropolis live twice as many rats than people. In total, according to estimates of city authorities, 16,6 million rats live in parks, subway tunnels and in the garbage cans of New York. Whereas the number of inhabitants of the city, according to the census 2012 of the year, is 8,4 million people. Rats are twice as numerous as humans in the Big Apple.

Currently 45 inspectors from the specialized health service are fighting with rats. From the beginning of July, 9 specialists will join them, the staff of fighters with rats will be expanded to 54 people.

They have a lot of work to do, because even with state expansion, there will be about 307 407 pests for every rat extermination specialist.

Most rats live in areas of North Manhattan (Washington Heights, Inwood, Morningside Heights, Hamilton Hits), as well as in the South Bronx. The Lower East Side and Chinatown are also famous for their abundance of these pests.

“Rats most often live underground, in subways and tunnels, in colonies,” says New York City Health Director Mary Bassett. “Sometimes I walk through the park and realize that all these numerous tunnels underground are full of rats. They hide there during the day, and at night they come to the surface in search of food.”

Of course, people are unpleasant repulsive appearance of rats. But even worse than infectious diseases that can tolerate rodents. Rats can cause asthma attacks. Hungry animals, under certain circumstances, can attack a person, for example, a homeless person who is sleeping on a bench at night. In addition, diseases spread through rat droppings.

Last year, an 4-year-old boy died in a rat-sheltered homeless shelter. The child was poisoned by poison left in the corridor for rats.

As one of the pest control measures proposed to get rid of the urns in the New York subway. Logically, people will leave less trash and scraps in the subway, which are the main sources of food for rats. However, there is a danger that some passengers, instead of taking the garbage with them, will throw it on the railway tracks, which, of course, will have the opposite effect.