I am so thankful that Westman doesn’t have a rat problem. I’ve lived here 5 years and I’ve only ever come across a mouse once in my apartment and I quickly dealt with that. Rats would be a completely different situation.
The city of Chicago has been dealing with a major rat issue since the 1970s. . They used to pay people a dollar per exterminated rat. This was probably a great way to make a quick couple of backs in 1970’s Chicago, but in 2021 you’d think there’s gotta be a more enticing offer. Better yet, if you’re smart like the city is, you’ve come up with a grand idea that involves paying almost nothing yet expands their animal population. Since 2012 they’ve released 1000 feral cats into the city to help combat the rat problem.
What do the cats do? Nothing. Seriously. The city of Chicago didn’t release the cats with the expectation they’d kill the rats, but rather ward them off. Naturally, they might kill them, but it’s the cat’s pheromones that the city loves. They serve as a deterrent for the rats and the hope is that the city will one day be overrun by cats instead of rats.
I feel like I remember this from the Simpsons.
