Rats in New York subway

It seems that people keep reporting the news that rats in New York subway are getting bigger. Some people living in the city say that they can go weeks, and perhaps even months without seeing a single rat, whereas others say they spot them all the time. It has been suggested that you are more likely to see something if you are scared of it, so perhaps those who are seeing them all the time are those who have a phobia? Maybe the ones who miss them are the ones that aren't phased by them in the slightest?

There are quite a lot of rats in the subway, that must be said, and they do seem to be bigger than your average run of the mill household rat. People are throwing food away all the time, and that's why the rats are going down there. There might be loads of people, and quite a lot of danger at the same time, but there is also a lot of food - garbage cans, dropped crumbs and waste, you know? It's like a five star restaurant for the rodents down there.

If you don't particularly like rats, and would rather not see them on the New York subway, the locals have a few tips that you can bear in mind. Firstly, don't stand near the edge of the platform, close to the tracks, and if you do, definitely don't look down! That's where you'll more likely see them. They tend to run along the tracks a lot.

Of course, if you are sight-seeing in New York and are worried about the rats, or the effects the rats might have on you when you see them, take the bus instead. Or hail yourself a cab. There are so many other ways to get around in the city than just relying on the subway.

Go back to the Rats in the Attic home page.

Big cities host many people due to its enormous size. But along with people, it also hosts animals of various kinds. One such animal is the common rat. This rodent can be found in big cities on a very large scale. Big cities have their ring of rats. They have the distinction that sets them apart from the general rats residing in rural and urban areas. Their physical features and attributes also differ from the other common rats. City rats are much larger as compared to rats in rural areas due to the ample amount of food available. They can weigh up to 2-2.5 pounds while they measure fifteen to twenty inches in length (including the tail). Rats were first spotted in Asia but now have successfully made their way across Europe, Africa, and various parts of America. 

The city rats can be classified into two categories according to where they are found. In one category, there are the uptown rats that can be found in the upscale and high rise parts of the cities. In the other category, there are the downtown rats which are mostly found in the less popular and more crowded parts of the cities. Just like how people reside in two parts of the city, similarly, rats do too. Not only this, but the characteristics of rats also differ from one another depending on the different neighborhoods they live in. 

Rats that live in the cities can be found in almost every part of the city, as mentioned previously. Some areas of the cities have a larger presence of rats than other areas. One such area is the subway. Subways have been found to have huge quantities of rats. They are so abundant that there have been multiple occasions where rats were found crawling out of a person’s clothes. The reason why rats are automatically attracted to subways is that they provide an ideal environment for them. Subways have sewers and pipelines which is where rats live and then move from one place to another. Subways are also filled with trash, garbage, and leftovers. Such unhygienic conditions provide ideal conditions for them to find hiding spots. There are also leftovers in the subway and this provides them with the perfect opportunity to find food without much effort. This helps in growing their population and makes it a huge problem for the residents of the city.

Rats in subways are highly destructive. They gnaw at pipes and this results in leaks which can cause a lot of problems. Not only this, but they also move through these pipes which is why a lot of residents living near the subways face dire consequences. This also increases the repair expenses which are spent on fixing these pipes. Lastly, these rats are carriers of various pathogens and diseases. Some diseases are more serious than others and can even result in death if not taken care of immediately. The presence of rats in subways is a serious problem that needs to be overseen on an immediate basis.