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Citizen complaint of the day: In North End rat/dog war, nobody wins
By adamg on Wed, 03/13/2024 - 10:07pm
An alarmed citizen files a 311 complaint about a battle at the RUFF dog park on Snow Hill Street this evening:
A dog was bitten this evening by a rat it picked up. Fully vaccinated so vet said not to worry, but can the City please make efforts to address this problem?Dog owner wound up killing the rat with a shovel because it was so badly injured by the dogs.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
Boston
does not care about the rodent population. People cut the City too much slack when it comes to accountability. The bus lanes are awesome though.
Know what would help?
Bostonians don't seem to give a rat's hind end about throwing garbage anywhere and everywhere, including that delicious snack known as dog poop.
The city can only do so much when it is filled with entitled litterbugs and people who just can't seem to bother keeping their trash under wraps or end curb pickup in favor of area dumpsters.
But…
In reality, it’s the residents and businesses that are creating the problem with how they dispose of their rubbish and how they keep up their properties. If a large majority of people did the right thing then the problem would not be at the level it is currently at. Unfortunately most people do not care enough about doing said right thing- they do love to complain though!
Its funny you mention bus
Its funny you mention bus lanes that removed parking. Because parked cars are a huge reason why we have rats. Cities in other parts of the world have huge, secure trash containers on the sides of streets that everyone puts trash in to instead of just tossing garbage bags on the sidewalk for rats to feast on. Would spoiled drivers give up their free parking for these big trash containers? Based on prior selfish and short-sighted behavior, I'd guess they would put up a temper tantrum.
Also, rats often build nests in car engines. Another reason fewer cars equals fewer rats.
I was told by an exterminator
I was told by an exterminator that the rat population has gone way up because Boston has not had a deep freeze for two straight winters.
Not just rats
Skunks, rabbits and more small animals also seem to be much more abundant. I suspect that the coyote population will also boom as a result.
Emerald Necklace?
My suspicion for a while has been that the Emerald Necklace created a "wildlife highway" to get from Blue Hills and the outlying areas into the center of the city without having to cross too much pavement.
Please explain
What does that have to do with rats, other than they provide a food source for said wildlife?
While we have field mice hanging out in wooded areas, the rats we have came from other places already adapted to urban environments and feeding off of human activities. The woods are source of adaptable predators, not this particular prey item.
No deep freeze?
February 2023 the temperature dropped below 0f. Is that cold enough for you?