Killing Rats In Seattle: No. 1 City In U.S. For Rats Problem
Killing rats is a top priority in Seattle since it was just revealed to be the No. 1 city in the U.S. for a rats problem. This is according to the American Housing Survey, a new report released and sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey reports that rats have been seen in 28,600 homes in Washington’s largest city – 2.1 percent of all residences.
This startling statistic comes with the dire warning that killing rats is the only way to rid the city of its rats problem. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a myth; rats will never leave the area where they were born. And these pests are not loners. There is no instance of a single rat living in or near a home or apartment. A rat sighting is the only evidence needed to indicate a colony is lurking, for these are social rodents and they live in groups. They are also incessant breeders, with each mating couple producing as many as 900 offspring in a single year.
A rats problem is more than just an embarrassing nuisance for the city of Seattle. It’s a shocking fact that people and pets don’t have to be bitten by a rat to be killed by one. Merely coming into contact with rat droppings, mucous, or urine in dust particles is enough to contract over 10 fatal diseases which kill millions of people every year throughout the world, such as the Bubonic Plague, Brucellosis, Hantavirus, Leptospirosis, Rabies, Rat Bite Fever, Salmonellas, Trichinosis, Tuberculosis and Typhus Fever.
These diseases are also spread by fleas and ticks feeding on rats. If you think Bubonic Plague is just a memory from a history book when one-third of the population of Europe was wiped out in the Middle Ages, just this week, a Los Angeles girl was sent to the hospital and is being treated for the plague. In June, a 16-year-old boy in Colorado died from the plague. This is why killing rats in Seattle is an absolute necessity.
There are documented reports of babies being killed and eaten recently in South Africa and Yemen. One man, lying immobilized in a hospital bed in India, lost his penis to a rat.
When rats aren’t mating or feeding, they are gnawing. Because their teeth never stop growing, they instinctively gnaw every day to keep them trimmed. One of their favorite things to gnaw is electrical wiring. The insurance industry estimates that more than 25,000 fires are caused in the U.S. each year from rats gnawing wiring in attics, inside walls, and on outside electrical fixtures.
Killing rats requires the assistance of professionals. Here’s one shocking video that shows what a residential rats problem looks like.
When Seattle’s killing rats spree is over, the city will need to focus on roaches. Seattle was also named the No. 2 U.S. city for roach sightings, second only to Tampa, FL.
