{"id":192296,"date":"2026-04-10T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192296\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:30:11","slug":"eek-rat-sightings-likely-to-rise-in-nyc-as-temperatures-warm-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192296\/","title":{"rendered":"Eek! Rat sightings likely to rise in NYC as temperatures warm up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-block-key=\"a4k8n\">As temperatures rise in New York City, so does rat activity and the chances that New Yorkers will see them.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"4q916\">City officials have touted <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nyc-says-rats-are-on-the-run-as-trash-rules-kick-in-and-bins-pile-up\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">declines<\/a> in rat sightings in recent years after previous Mayor Eric Adams launched an <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/mayor-adams-got-much-of-nycs-trash-into-bins-its-up-to-mamdani-to-finish-the-job\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">aggressive anti-rat campaign<\/a>, including a trash containerization program and the appointment of a \u201crat czar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"f4r64\">But estimates suggest there are millions of rats across the five boroughs. And warmer weather can make them more visible, according to Caroline Bragdon, who leads neighborhood interventions for pest control at the city\u2019s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1c0sj\">\u201cAs all New Yorkers move outside and spend more time outdoors, of course, there\u2019s also a higher likelihood that they\u2019re going to see and observe rats,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"dm868\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/amp\/newyork\/news\/how-rats-survive-winter-in-nyc\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Experts<\/a> said several factors drive the seasonal increase in sightings: rats\u2019 breeding cycles, less cautious behavior among juvenile rats and more people spending time outside.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"csujm\">Rats can breed year round under the right conditions. But colder winters can slow reproduction, particularly for rats living outdoors, according to rodentologist Bobby Corrigan.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1ksr2\">\u201cThey&#8217;re going to shut down the reproduction because it&#8217;s too dangerous to try to have a family of pups [baby rats] and pups will be exposed to the super cold like we had this winter,\u201d Corrigan said. \u201cWinters reduce the rat population for outdoor rats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"9a69d\">Corrigan, who has also worked with the city as a consultant on rodent control, said peak breeding periods typically occur in the spring and fall.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"e8m5q\">Human behavior also plays a role in rat activity.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"5t298\">\u201cPeople start sitting out more in the springtime and having picnics, and people being people, some people are not exactly tidy with their outdoor activities,\u201d Corrigan said. \u201cRats benefit from anything that we spill or leave behind or [when we] forget to empty a garbage can,\u200athose typical scenarios that living in a city brings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"2v6mb\">Bragdon said rats are primarily outdoor burrowers, but they can enter buildings \u2014 as New Yorkers are well aware. She recommends frequent inspections, sealing gaps around doors and vents, and keeping food and trash securely contained.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"uh2u\">\u201cYou will definitely know if you have rats in your apartment, your building or your block,\u201d she said. &#8220;We do want New Yorkers to recognize the signs of rat activity, and the telltale signs are rat droppings, rat burrows, gnaw marks, runways. You may see rub marks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"6d2m9\">New Yorkers can also check the city\u2019s rat <a href=\"https:\/\/a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov\/IndicatorPublic\/Rats\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">map<\/a> to see reported activity in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As temperatures rise in New York City, so does rat activity and the chances that New Yorkers will&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-192296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-ny","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-nyc-headlines","12":"tag-nyc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}