Our way of life has changed as the coronavirus pandemic has introduced us all to a new normal. People have retreated to their homes thus minimizing the amount of movement in public. Where there was once public interaction, the new norm is now social distancing and home quarantine.
This lockdown has greatly affected the way the streets appear now and how businesses are operated. People who used to eat out a lot are now dining inside their homes. Restaurants with back alleys that have dumpsters filled with food waste no longer have these unsightly bins as they only serve food for curbside pick-ups or deliveries.
The food supply has now been mostly relocated to homes. And like the Pied Piper, rats are picking up the food scents and are following them.
Adapting Humans Make for Adapting Rodents
Our change in lifestyle, brought about by this unforeseen and unseen adversary has caused us to adapt to the circumstances and make the most of it, making most of our activities take place in our homes. Unfortunately, this adaptation has also caused rodents to adapt to our changes as well.
In most places, quarantine is followed by less rubbish on the streets and alleys. Rats depend on our garbage for their food supply. With fewer food sources, rats are now becoming bolder and are venturing into places they normally wouldn’t go to.
Food Stress
The lack of food supply is causing rodents to come out at odd hours into open spaces and places where one would not normally see them. If rats were sneaky before and avoided human contact, now they’re out on the streets in broad daylight, scouring for scraps they can feed off and bring to their nests and burrows.
People from different parts of the world have reported sightings of rats “wrestling” in parks and on streets. These wrestling matches are in reality rats duking it out over food. As resources are few and far between, this tends to cause these filthy creatures to behave aggressively. This aggressive behavior leads to cannibalism within the rat colonies.
Another way that these vermin adapt to the changing times is they travel farther than they are used to. They can wander to faraway places in search of food and could end up in a different neighborhood. According to renowned rodentologist, Robert Corrigan, rats are very formidable mammals that can follow food with just their sense of smell and penetrate any home with their strong teeth.
Unwelcome House Guests
One thing about them is they are not wanted in homes. These pests wreak havoc in places in search of food and they carry with them germs and diseases. Although it is still not known if they can carry the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, these rodents are associated with at least 55 pathogens.
For these reasons, it is best to keep your home always clean and sanitized. Dispose of your trash properly outside to avoid rat infestation inside your home. Call a residential pest control company in London, Birmingham or Manchester and ask how to best deal with rats.
Keeping your home clean, neat, and sanitized will not only keep the coronavirus at bay but it will also keep the rats out.