CDC: Pandemic Creating Bolder, More Aggressive Rats
As many Capital Region restaurants have been forced to provide hungry customers with mostly take-out service, a certain scavenging scoundrel has been under served and according to the CDC, might be getting more and more aggressive. This underserved population: rats. The CDC is warning people that rodents might be getting more and more intrusive and destructive as they unsuccessfully search for food in places where they normally find it.
According to a report from News Channel 13, the Center for Disease Control issued a statement on their website warning that these aggressive and hungry rats not are not only behaving more boldly toward humans, they're actually turning on one another.
According to a story in the New York Times, some rats are resorting to cannibalism, eating each other's young, as food has become more and more scarce.
Some cities like New Orleans and Chicago have seen a large increase in the aggressive rat population and the New York Times is reporting that they're more common in the daytime. The source also reports that rats have even made the bold leap to find nutrients and something to chew on under the hood of your car. According to the NY Times, in larger cities affected by the pandemic, it has become more common to see rodents living in the engine of your car where they can munch cables and eat soy-based wire insulation.
The CDC has recommended ways to keep rodents from becoming a pain in the pandemic by "eliminating any food sources, sealing even the smallest entries into homes, and successfully trapping rodents in and around the home."
Here are some tips for self-care during the pandemic: