San Francisco Frontiers - New York declares total war on prolific rat population

Faced with an overwhelming and ever-growing problem, officials have moved beyond gassing burrows to suffocate rodents and are now using high-tech mapping tools to try and sterilize the population.

Alongside targeted interventions, officials are mounting an effort to educate the public about the need to avoid leaving behind food waste that feeds and sustains the rat population.

Caroline Bragdon, director of neighborhood interventions for Pest Control Services within New York City's Department of Health, told AFP that the lack of food "stresses" rats and other vermin.

"Perhaps this forces them to go further in search of food, but perhaps they simply have fewer offspring," she said.

"That's usually what we're seeing. Fewer rats over time. Less breeding leads to less rat activity," Bragdon added.

The city is testing out an arsenal of different tools in the Harlem neighborhood, aiming to find new products and methods to tackle the rats.

For large, densely populated cities like New York -- with its 8.5 million inhabitants -- food sources for the rodents are bountiful, whether it's on sidewalks, in overflowing trash bins, or in parks.

"Lately, I haven't felt that I have to run in between the mounds of trash to run away from rats because they have those new (sealed trash) containers," said Harlem resident Karen Del Aguila, 50.

Rats, which survive on practically the same diet as humans, can flourish even on items discarded as trash -- like soda cans thrown into recycling bins, or crumbs given to pigeons, warned Bragdon.

A rat needs one ounce (28 grams) of food per day to sustain itself, and it can have up to 12 offspring per litter.

During its short life of less than a year, it can have between five and seven litters.

The best way to counter the scourge of rats is to "remove their food source... So make it harder for them, then they're going to have to travel further to try and find something," said Alexa Albert, a supervisor for the city's pest control service.

- 'It can be done' -

She swiped her screen to show the street-level data logged on a rat tracker app used by those involved in the crusade against rodent infestation.

The city health department's 70 inspectors use the mobile app to detect, report and monitor rodent activity -- as well as plot abatement tactics.

Inspectors go door to door asking businesses and residents to clean buildings, stores, and sidewalks.

Authorities also now offer training on how to combat rats, taken by thousands of residents and building managers.

In October 2022, New York City vaunted a "trash revolution," aimed at installing sealed containers to allow the removal of black bags of organic waste from sidewalks after rats surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pre-pandemic, their population had been cut by as much as 90 percent in some areas.

"So we know it can be done," said Bragdon, who added that she hoped 2025 would be a "turnaround year."

Local resident Jessica Sanchez said she had observed much fewer rats in her neighborhood.

"Not a long time ago, when you went to put out the trash, five of them came out," she said.

"I was even afraid to put my son on the floor."

The rat warriors are seeking to learn the rodents' dietary habits throughout the year by using samples of different food types to identify what bait they are most likely to take.

In 2024, complaints about rat activity dropped 25 percent compared to the year before, according to official data.

But so far, only Manhattan's Chinatown has managed to bring the rat population under control.

O.Anderson--SFF