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NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

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61–70 of 89 posts

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#61

All my times visiting NYC I never saw a rat. All my life living on the river around Boston I saw them all the time. And man they were the big ones. I have added nothing to the discussion.

From a subway platform, look carefully at the tracks. I'd say a ~ 75% chance to spot a furry friend.

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#62
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're being sarcastic, but the purpose of leaving the garbage bins outside is so that the garbage trucks can pick them up, as their contract stipulates that they pick up from the sidewalk and not from inside the (numerous) buildings. Even in the suburbs, residents of single-family houses typically need to bring their garbage/recycling bins to the end of their driveways. I think the only time that this isn't…

> I think you're being sarcastic, but the purpose of leaving the garbage bins outside is so that the garbage trucks can pick them up, as their contract stipulates that they pick up from the sidewalk and not from inside the (numerous) buildings. Uh. Where I live – on the other coast – we just place our trash in plastic containers. We place them on the street the same way. Garbage truck picks them up and the driver doe…

> the driver doesn't even have to get out of the vehicle

Does everyone orient their bins correctly and precisely enough for the truck's pickup device? Is the pickup device so flexible that it doesn't matter?

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#63

All my times visiting NYC I never saw a rat. All my life living on the river around Boston I saw them all the time. And man they were the big ones. I have added nothing to the discussion.

I was once standing outside a night club in Brooklyn, next to a construction site, when a rat came charging around the corner being chased by a cat. The rat smacked straight into my ankle and bounced off, briefly stunned. The cat also froze, trying to take in the situation. A split second later they charged down the sidewalk into the gloom. The rat was so big my ankle hurt the rest of the night.

When my wife lived in NYC she was walking home one night when there were an unusually large number of rats running around. She noticed that Fred Armisen (actor, comedian) was walking down the middle of the street next to her, and he looked at her and said something to the effect of "What's with all these rats?!".

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#64
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, never bothered. Caught them myself.

Envious. That wasn't possible in my case although I also did it myself. I killed hundreds using 30 lbs of dry ice. The city parking lot nearby had dozens of nests I mapped and sealed. Btw, how did you "catch" them? Were they Norwegian rats?

How do you kill rats with dry ice?

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#65
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Envious. That wasn't possible in my case although I also did it myself. I killed hundreds using 30 lbs of dry ice. The city parking lot nearby had dozens of nests I mapped and sealed. Btw, how did you "catch" them? Were they Norwegian rats?

How do you kill rats with dry ice?

Dry ice is frozen CO2. Rat nests usually have two holes, an entrance and an exit. Close one, place dry ice in the other and close the other hole to seal it. The dry ice melts and floods the chambers with CO2, no more rats.

It's considered more humane and safe than poison. Some cities use this method.

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#68

Anyone from NYC know what phenomenon causes the short period up and down?

trash (rats' food source) is usually picked up twice a week in most places in the city, it never lines up perfectly to 'half-way through the week', and sometimes the 'other' collection is 'just recycling' (less organic matter to feast on) I'm guessing the most frequent submitters send consistent reports when they can see rats on their block going after the trash (twice-ish a week); if more people in different areas r…

Could it also be that in NYC you just put trash bags directly on the sidewalk/street? It's very unusual to see, as a visitor.

Re: NYC Rat Sightings (Daily)

#70
post #18
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're being sarcastic, but the purpose of leaving the garbage bins outside is so that the garbage trucks can pick them up, as their contract stipulates that they pick up from the sidewalk and not from inside the (numerous) buildings. Even in the suburbs, residents of single-family houses typically need to bring their garbage/recycling bins to the end of their driveways. I think the only time that this isn't…

Not being sarcastic. Every other place I've been uses containers (wheeled bins, cans, dumpsters) to prevent rats and to make collection cheaper. What is the purpose of piles?

Where would you keep the bins? Where would people park when the bins are out? How many bins would a say 15 floor apartment building have?
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