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My_Name_ISNULL t1_izxifnw wrote

So, just to play devils advocate, what exactly is the problem with rats? Yes, i know they are around, that's a pain, but what health issue do they really cause?

Leptospirosis? Rarely found in nyc. Hantavirus? Also rarely found here. LCMV, Tularemia? Nope, nope. Salmonella? Okay, fine, semi-common, but not from the rats. I'm open to research saying otherwise, but I don't see rats as that huge of a health concern.

At any rate, beyond that, sounds like you have more an issue with people feeding cats in your area than anything else, and this whole rat thing is just your way of round-about bitching about them.

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paisleycatperson t1_izxleft wrote

Rats do tear open trash, but that's really a trash problem more than a rat problem imo.

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rioht t1_izy7tqb wrote

Lepto killed a bunch of dogs in Brooklyn last year. Hantavirus can go airborne from feces. (Clean up rat/mice feces with care, folks).

If the health stuff doesn't bother you, then the property damage numbers should. It can cost thousands and thousands to repair sidewalk joists when they burrow underneath. Rats often will go into cars during the winter as well and will go in there and start chewing up wires.

I don't hate rats - on the contrary, they're pretty cool creatures. But you can't ignore them from either a public health and/or public spaces standpoint.

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My_Name_ISNULL t1_izy9sau wrote

You're saying it can, while ignoring the fact that it doesnt. Otherwise we'd see case numbers representing such, which we dont - "In New York State, there have been five identified cases of hantavirus since 1993" with an additional 1 case, bringing total to 6 as per 2020.
https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2018/2018-06-22_suspected_hantavirus.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/surveillance/index.html

The dog thing sucked, but if I recall that was just from 1 main dog run in williamsburg, hardly a health emergency. And i say this as a dog owner. Property damage is beyond my original statement; it's not a public health issue.

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rioht t1_izybchh wrote

https://greenpointers.com/2022/01/19/leptospirosis-outbreak-confirmed-in-williamsburg/

According to the above, it was between two and four. And look, is that a ton of dogs? No, but the issue here was that a spot in McCarren had bad drainage and the water became a vector for lepto which spread to dogs. This is a (relatively) easy fix that could've saved some pups from getting sick and dying.

As much as you may want to limit the scope of your original argument/statement - fine. But you shouldn't ignore property damage, because in the end we as taxpayers end up paying for it.

You don't have to take it from me, but I got trained by Bobby Corrigan. I encourage you to read up anything he's written, as well as any stuff by Matt Frye and Tim Best, who are all fantastic scientists who practice IPM. (Integrated Pest Management).

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My_Name_ISNULL t1_izyeakd wrote

Ah, more than 1, my mistake. Thanks for the link.

Beyond that, I think it's 2 separate things, health and property concerns. Property damage I'll definitely give you, and the estimate could be much lower than actual damage, but I'm trying to focus on the health side as most of the time we see anything on here about rats it's framed in matters of health. And my point is that if you look into it the concern is a bit overblown.

Looking into lepto, 2021 shows around 13 [human] cases, 2020 had around 5. Thinking about that in reference to nyc pop of around 8.5 million, that's a 0.000153 and 0.000059 %. These numbers are so low they aren't even rounding errors. Although to be fair, the increase between 20/21 could be a matter of concern.

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/han/advisory/2021/leptospirosis-cases-increase.pdf

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Wowzlul t1_izz88no wrote

Very well I will open the door and let the rats wash over me.

Come and get it boys

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