Pest Management Professional, September 2010
established rats tend to have foraging ranges from 100 to 500 feet from their burrows although they can wander much further if need be The rats in New York will feed on any food people or their pets consume combined with any natural foods found outdoors Yes its true rats love garbage This Corrigan says is one of the reasons why theyre such successful mammals No 3 behind humans and mice The other reason he says is their ability to live hugger mugger in crowded underground colonies A lack of specificity enables rats to thrive in urban environments Corrigan says Waste Management Seeing the piles of garbage on every city street is mind blowing to someone who isnt used to this but its how New York City deals with its waste Walk along any street in the city around dusk and youll see these bags moving well the bags arent moving but the rats inside looking for food are I was lucky enough to witness this phenomenon myself while walking around Manhattan the night before In fact ever since I havent been able to walk around New York City in the evening without staring at trash bags or along the curbs looking for rats Waste management Corrigan says is rat management Heres another way to look at it a single pound of food can feed 22 rats per night One New York City restaurant garbage bag on one night can feed approximately 1320 rats Its not wonder New York City has been battling rodents for nearly 250 years continued on next page Circle 138 www mypmp net SEPTEMBER 2010 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL 81
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