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Rat infestation

Rat infestation
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    Post #1 - February 23rd, 2007, 11:29 am
    Post #1 - February 23rd, 2007, 11:29 am Post #1 - February 23rd, 2007, 11:29 am
    HI,

    This link has a news story video clip. The rats were quite at home and not at all intimidated by people or photographer's flash bulbs.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #2 - February 23rd, 2007, 12:18 pm
    Post #2 - February 23rd, 2007, 12:18 pm Post #2 - February 23rd, 2007, 12:18 pm
    Was this what was on the Today Show this morning about the KFC/Taco Bell? If so, that was truly, truly scary and disturbing.
  • Post #3 - February 23rd, 2007, 1:12 pm
    Post #3 - February 23rd, 2007, 1:12 pm Post #3 - February 23rd, 2007, 1:12 pm
    HI,

    Those are from a KFC/Taco Bell in New York. The comfort level of the rats running around was most bothersome. It was obvious they had taken over the place.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #4 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:02 pm
    Post #4 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:02 pm Post #4 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:02 pm
    Funny you mention that subject. The plant's exterminator was telling me of some of the rat infestations that he treats on weekends in Chicago - YUCK! I won't go into all of the details.

    I was assigned to work at a Manhattan hospital for a couple of months (during a strike) and I noted that they had one employee assigned to work exclusively on pest control. He told me that rats were an on-going problem in most large NY buildings and it took a concerted effort on a daily basis to keep the population at check.

    If I remember correctly, the NY Post had a front page photo of a rat feasting on the donuts at Dunkin Donuts (and allegedly, it wasn't the NYT food critic).
  • Post #5 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:50 pm
    Post #5 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:50 pm Post #5 - February 23rd, 2007, 2:50 pm
    I've seen rats scurrying through the shrubbery at numerous Chicago dining establishments with outside seating areas. It's pretty much true that if you have a city, you have rats.

    I have read that rats can't burb, so soda pop, especially Pepsi, is an effective control. Set out a pan, and in the morning, shovel up the bodies.

    (In fact, I remember reading in an interview of Jean Banchet about 20 years ago in which he said that rats in the city -- in an urban area, anywhere there was food, there were rats -- was one of the reasons he built Le Francais in the suburbs.)
    "All great change in America begins at the dinner table." Ronald Reagan

    http://midwestmaize.wordpress.com
  • Post #6 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:10 pm
    Post #6 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:10 pm Post #6 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:10 pm
    Rat and Mouse Gazette for people who adore their furry friends:

    Don’t freak out if your rat gets into your soda-pop, either. Although the Rat Health Care booklet reports that carbonated beverages should never be given to rats because "rat’s can’t burp, it can be fatal", this is simply not true.

    Of course, you want your rat to have the healthiest diet possible, but there really are no foods that will harm or kill your rats, other than by making them fat, which is unhealthy and can lead to heart disease and other conditions. You must always remember, however, that any animal, including humans, may have an allergy to a certain food that could cause illness, or in a rare case, death.


    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #7 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:23 pm
    Post #7 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:23 pm Post #7 - February 23rd, 2007, 3:23 pm
    I remember when rats were a problem for the movie houses downtown. People would be watching a film and rats would run over their feet! Talk about distraction.
  • Post #8 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:03 pm
    Post #8 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:03 pm Post #8 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:03 pm
    imsscott wrote:I remember when rats were a problem for the movie houses downtown. People would be watching a film and rats would run over their feet! Talk about distraction.


    I remember Gene Siskel commenting about lifting his feet off the floor while watching movies to avoid the rats.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #9 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:09 pm
    Post #9 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:09 pm Post #9 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:09 pm
    Believe me, you will feel much better about the occasional rat in Chicago after visiting Budapest, gazing out over the river through the lead-polluted skies, and suddenly realizing that that gray patch on the concrete bank below you is heading your way with hundreds of beady eyes.
    Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
    New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
    Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.
  • Post #10 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:19 pm
    Post #10 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:19 pm Post #10 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:19 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:
    imsscott wrote:I remember when rats were a problem for the movie houses downtown. People would be watching a film and rats would run over their feet! Talk about distraction.


    I remember Gene Siskel commenting about lifting his feet off the floor while watching movies to avoid the rats.

    Regards,


    No, no. That was just another one of William Castle's gimmicks.
    JiLS
  • Post #11 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:31 pm
    Post #11 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:31 pm Post #11 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:31 pm
    William Castle lives!
    Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
    New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
    Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.
  • Post #12 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:35 pm
    Post #12 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:35 pm Post #12 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:35 pm
    My rule of thumb, when I lived in New York, was never to live in a building with a ground floor restaurant. It didn't stop the cold weather invasions of the rats into your building, but it seemed like you were less likely to have a full scale assault.

    In the past, I have told the story about moving into my first apartment in New York in Greenwich Village. After paying a security deposit, first months rent and the broker's fee for my apartment, I was flat broke and four days away from payday. I used my last six bucks to buy some bologna and a loaf of bread that I would subsist on for the next four days.

    The next day, when I left for work, I made the mistake of leaving my loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. When I returned home, one of the little critters had burrowed straight through it during the course of the day. That night, in had a loser's dinner of bologna on my hand.

    I woke up early the next morning carefully watching for the bread deliveries for the restaurants on my street from my fire escape. When they arrived about 5:30 am, I bolted for the street and made off with a baguette from the bread bag left on the doorstep of this incredibly bad Italian place called Ottomanelli's across the street.

    Three days later, I left $3 in an envelope in Ottomanelli's doorjam and thanked them for their bread.
  • Post #13 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:43 pm
    Post #13 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:43 pm Post #13 - February 23rd, 2007, 4:43 pm
    In SE Asia, rats are eaten in some areas. In one area of Thailand, they jokingly refer to it as Star Food, because Star is Rats backwards. In Vietnam, they call it street venison. So next time they eat your food, you can find out if they're any good. (The cookbook written to go along with Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels -- Labscouse and Spotted Dog -- has a recipe for rat, if you need one.) ;-)
    "All great change in America begins at the dinner table." Ronald Reagan

    http://midwestmaize.wordpress.com
  • Post #14 - February 24th, 2007, 1:03 am
    Post #14 - February 24th, 2007, 1:03 am Post #14 - February 24th, 2007, 1:03 am
    Cynthia wrote:
    I have read that rats can't burb, so soda pop, especially Pepsi, is an effective control. Set out a pan, and in the morning, shovel up the bodies.


    Actually, on effective means of killing rates is placing a container of antifreeze in the area where rats and mice are populous. It attracts them with the smell and the sweet taste. And it kills them.

    It also kills cats, dogs, and kids.
  • Post #15 - May 26th, 2020, 9:41 am
    Post #15 - May 26th, 2020, 9:41 am Post #15 - May 26th, 2020, 9:41 am
    Rats are getting aggressive hunting for food amid restaurant closures, CDC warns
    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.
    ...
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #16 - May 26th, 2020, 7:37 pm
    Post #16 - May 26th, 2020, 7:37 pm Post #16 - May 26th, 2020, 7:37 pm
    Unpleasant development. Hope the CDC recommends killing them, and not just deterring them.
    "All great change in America begins at the dinner table." Ronald Reagan

    http://midwestmaize.wordpress.com
  • Post #17 - May 26th, 2020, 7:40 pm
    Post #17 - May 26th, 2020, 7:40 pm Post #17 - May 26th, 2020, 7:40 pm
    Cynthia wrote:Unpleasant development. Hope the CDC recommends killing them, and not just deterring them.

    Is there any way to convert them into a toilet paper substitute? :P

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #18 - May 27th, 2020, 7:40 am
    Post #18 - May 27th, 2020, 7:40 am Post #18 - May 27th, 2020, 7:40 am
    Chicago does have a Rat Patrol, which I hope survived any budget cuts.
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #19 - May 30th, 2020, 3:17 pm
    Post #19 - May 30th, 2020, 3:17 pm Post #19 - May 30th, 2020, 3:17 pm
    The worst rat infestation I've ever endured was while doing a consult in Greektown a few yrs back. Scary what I saw both inside and out. In all fairness, they were building (still are) the overpass and the heavy machinery displaces them, but it was really really out of control.
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #20 - August 4th, 2022, 7:20 pm
    Post #20 - August 4th, 2022, 7:20 pm Post #20 - August 4th, 2022, 7:20 pm
    Rats are making homes under car hoods in increasing numbers
    ...
    Couple that seismic shift in rats’ everyday lives with the fact that many cars have organic wiring insulation that smells like food, and you start to see why there’s a problem. There is debate over whether organic materials like soy-based wiring insulation attract rodents. Still, the reality is that many people find their wires chewed in addition to evidence of rodents living in the engine bay.
    ...
    If you’re experiencing an infestation, you don’t have to burn down your car, despite the temptation. One of the best ways to prevent chewing is to spray the wires with a bitter apple or another deterrent. The smell and awful taste should keep teeth off your wires, but you’ll need to reapply periodically to retain effectiveness.
    ...
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #21 - August 4th, 2022, 7:59 pm
    Post #21 - August 4th, 2022, 7:59 pm Post #21 - August 4th, 2022, 7:59 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:Rats are making homes under car hoods in increasing numbers
    ...
    Couple that seismic shift in rats’ everyday lives with the fact that many cars have organic wiring insulation that smells like food, and you start to see why there’s a problem. There is debate over whether organic materials like soy-based wiring insulation attract rodents. Still, the reality is that many people find their wires chewed in addition to evidence of rodents living in the engine bay.
    ...
    If you’re experiencing an infestation, you don’t have to burn down your car, despite the temptation. One of the best ways to prevent chewing is to spray the wires with a bitter apple or another deterrent. The smell and awful taste should keep teeth off your wires, but you’ll need to reapply periodically to retain effectiveness.
    ...



    In Arizona, we have a serious problem with pack rats attacking cars, especially those owned and left out by snowbirds. They can easily cause $2k in damages as they chew up all of the wiring. The WORST brand (or the pack rat's favorite) is Honda. Honda has retaliated by creating an electrical tape that is coated with ... capsaicin.

    The most important thing that you can do in the Midwest to keep animals out of your car is to remove all food from the car. This includes, gum, mints, and the like.

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