The 6th Street A - B Block Association is co-hosting a talk on rat prevention with the NYC Department of Health tomorrow night at 7 at the 6th & B Community Garden. Details are on the flyer below…
An organizer says that the area has been inundated with rats of late … in part because of the demolition of 98-100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.
Meanwhile, in Tompkins Square Park, some people think the rat population is near the levels of the TSP Ratstravaganza during the summer of 2011.
And, despite the signs, people never stop feeding the birds and squirrels ... ultimately helping supply the rat colonies ...
Bottom photos this week via Scuba Diva
... and this morning in the Park...
13 comments:
The sign Do Not Feed the Birds should be written in multiple languages. Including Chinese and Polish.
Have any of you ever asked a person feeding pigeons to stop doing so? I did once and I heard was madness sounded like.
Ha, I did ask people to stop too... I live on 6th btw A and B, exactly the block discussed here. There are 2 women in their 60s who often wait to be picked up by a car in the morning, in front of a building just a few doors down from the garden. While they wait, they entertain themselves by throwing bread around, presumably for pigeons. I once asked them not to do so because of all the rat problems on the block and oh boy... Did I get an earful of f***-yous and "get out of here if you don't like its."
People feeding pigeons isn't providing enough food to support the rat population. There is plenty of garbage for them to feast on in the neighborhood. The problem is the city can't put the rat poison out anymore because if the hawks eat the rats, they will be poisoned. I am not sure how to solve this problem. I like the hawks and want to protect them, but protecting them has consequences.
There was a person on 12th street (a-b) which left the contents of a 5 pound bag of bird seed on the sidewalk each morning before 5 am. The birds ate little of it and I swept up the remaining 90% and put it in the trash. Many times have I seen people dump their unfinished lunch of rice and beans on the sidewalk near me to (feed the birds). Yes there are plenty of food sources for rats but crazy people which think only birds eat their refuse are growing the rat population. Every bit helps when combating this problem.
There's many things contributing to the rat population. Aside from the food sources, there's also the fact that there's an awful lot of places for them to live. Many landlords don't do nearly enough to limit or eliminate access to various hollows where the rats can make their homes.
Another thing that's contributed to a higher (vermin of all types) population is the mild winters for the last several years. This is true for the waterbugs, asian long-horned beetles, rats, mice, mosquitos, you name it, a hard winter with long cold spells would help to reduce populations. Unfortunately, it also affects people.
My friend lived in a building that was infested with rats. They were living it up in the basement, and the landlord refused to do anything about it. The city got involved, but I am not sure how effective they were. My friend finally moved. The previous poster is right about there being many factors creating this problem.
I always thought that a cold winter would keep the rat population in check but the winter just past was one of the coldest and snowiest in recent years. Rats live in cozy tunnels below the frost level so as long as they get water they can survive any cold blast. Since we have trash collection 3 times per week in NYC and most people don't compost, thin plastic garbage bags are and all you can eat buffet for rats.
@ Anon @ 2:05, I said a winter with long cold spells, not just a winter colder than the surrounding winters.
If we had three weeks of below 30 degrees Farenheit weather --both during the day and night-- that would solve a lot of problems.
If you look back at last winter's data, yes it was colder on average than the previous two or three, but there were few stretches of three days of genuine cold, let alone three weeks.
And, yes, there will always be some rats who survive. But, if it is really cold, for a while, the food sources are limited, there is less reproduction, less survival, and voila! fewer rats.
Frankly, there will always be rats. The thing is to limit them. Like us. We are just a larger vermin. Need to limit us, too.
@ 9:26
"People feeding pigeons isn't providing enough food to support the rat population."
You couldn't possibly be more wrong.
the hawks need something to eat.
Can somebody please post the outcome of this meeting? Or who we can contact if there's a rat problem? I can't be there tonight and 10th Street is having a bit of a ratfest as well.Thanks!
Anonymous said
"Ha, I did ask people to stop too... I live on 6th btw A and B, exactly the block discussed here. There are 2 women in their 60s who often wait to be picked up by a car in the morning, in front of a building just a few doors down from the garden. While they wait, they entertain themselves by throwing bread around, presumably for pigeons. I once asked them not to do so because of all the rat problems on the block and oh boy... Did I get an earful of f***-yous and "get out of here if you don't like its.""
Those two women live in my building. They also have overflowing bird feeders in the backyard that leave bird seed and shells all over the basement part of the backyard well. We now have rats in the backyard. They also dominate the backyard and the building with their own selfish agenda. They are some of the most selfish people I have ever encountered. The women that can barely walk is so bitter and angry that her first response to any situations is full of vitriol and bile. Their Sunday is now based upon spreading bread all over the neighborhood. Most Sundays you can see them in Tompkins Sq. park with large amounts of bread and birdseed to feed the rats (pigeons). No amount of reason will ever pierce their imagined case of the saint Francis of Assisi complex. PS they are also convinced the neighborhood will revert to crack days any moment now... totally live n fear and paranoia. I DO NOT recommend approaching them.
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