...more rats, thanks to the shutdown's festering trash

Cities could be teeming with more rats, thanks to the shutdown’s festering trash
Science Jan 4, 2019 8:13 PM EST
No one knows how long the partial government shutdown will last, but concerned Washington, D.C. citizens are confronting an unwitting consequence: an explosion of rats.

The National Parks Service is currently barred from collecting the overflowing garbage in national parks and monuments, including in the capital city. Smelly trash cans may be repulsive to us, but they’re manna for hungry pests.

When rats gorge themselves on lingering leftovers, they gain vital nutrients and proteins. Given an all-you-can-eat trash buffet, rats build up strength reserves and produce larger, healthier litters. More food means more rats, potentially for years to come.

The city-dwelling brown rat — Rattus norvegicus — carries diseases and can also bite through some forms of concrete and steel, so their populations represent a threat to public health and infrastructure when they expand.

More info available here:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/cities-could-be-teeming-with-more-rats-thanks-to-the-shutdowns-festering-trash