With restaurants closed, CDC warns of increasingly aggressive rodents looking for new food sources

[Zorro]

Humans aren’t the only ones hankering for the days they could dine out at their cities’ restaurants: Some rats that miss feasting on the scraps are becoming increasingly brazen to find new food sources, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday.

Amid stay-home restrictions set across the country to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus, many restaurants and cafes are closed or limited to takeout and delivery, and with the reduced sales, the restaurants’ trash bins are no longer overflowing with scrumptious leftovers hordes of rodents subsisted on. Finding slimmer pickings, critters have become more aggressive, prompting the CDC to issue guidance on how to deter them.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been increased reports of rat cannibalism and infanticide in New York, as well as more rat complaints in residential areas — including in Chicago — as humans produce more food waste at home. Roving rat armies, including one caught on camera scavenging New Orleans’ empty streets, are concerning to the CDC, which says rodents can carry disease.

The CDC advises home and business owners to cover garbage cans, put bird and pet food out of reach and seal small holes rodents could access in buildings. If people follow established cleaning guidelines, they can avoid exposure to rodent-borne diseases, according to the agency.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/05/23/with-restaurants-closed-cdc-warns-increasingly-aggressive-rodents-looking-new-food-sources/

[Maxheader]

1. Doesn't say a lot about restaurants..

Waste disposal methods..

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Might as well throw a little bubonic plague into the mix.

[Newest Reality]

3. Oh, why not?

Sure. Paint it black.

[malaise]

8. I'd worry more about Leptospirosis

We never see dogs on the streets around our neighborhood unless folks are walking their dog and just this morning alone I counted four dogs. Haven't seen rats around though but we feed the feral cats and they keep the rats at bay.

[hlthe2b]

4. I guess jack russell and other terriers will have a field day. (graphic photo warning)

In Manhattan Alleys, Dogs on Rat Hunts Find Bags of Fun

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/nyregion/in-manhattan-alleys-owners-send-their-dogs-on-a-rat-hunt.html


Meet the fearless dogs solving NYC's rat problem
https://nypost.com/2017/03/23/these-fearless-pups-thirst-for-rat-blood/

[OAITW r.2.0]

7. My sister had a couple of Jack Russell's....

Pound-for-pound the most hi-strung creatures you can imagine. I'm not sure they belong in the dog family. They were bred to go down rabbit holes, so maybe they are a little crazy, after-all.

[gratuitous]

5. So that explains Brad Parscale

And Kayleigh McEnany.

[sheshe2]

6. "increasingly aggressive rodents to find new food sources, "

Oh. Got it they are talking about rats, I thought they were referring to GOP politicians.

[malaise]

9. ROFL

[sheshe2]

10. I couldn't help myself.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

11. GOP politicians and their owners!

[sheshe2]

12. This!!!!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

14. Funny how the parasites call us "consumers". Will they turn on each other soon?

[jcgoldie]

13. those rodents are all over here in southern Illinois...

...you can pick them out by the red MAGA hat and no mask.