The new traps have already killed more than 100 New York rats in the past month – although their use has come under fire from animal activists who are demanding a more human approach. The crackdown on rodents comes amid disturbing reports on social media about a rat seen near the epicenter of the problem that was ‘foaming at the mouth.’ An NYPD spokeswoman could not confirm the app’s claim that police were responding to the report of the ‘vicious looking rat.’
Brooklyn’s war on rodents sees authorities snare rats in ALCOHOL-filled traps as resident spots one of the huge ‘vicious’ pests foaming at the mouth
- Alcohol traps have been rolled out in Brooklyn, New York, to catch rodents
- The traps lure in pests which are then overpowered by fumes and they drown in the alcohol
- Animal rights activists complain the alcohol traps are not a humane approach
- One local resident spotted a rat ‘foaming at the mouth’ on Thursday
New York City’s war on rats has stepped up a notch as alcohol and vinegar-filled rodent traps have been rolled out across Brooklyn to catch the pests.
The new traps have already killed more than 100 rats in the past month near Borough Hall – although their use has come under fire from animal activists who are demanding a more humane approach.
The traps lure in rodents which are then overpowered by fumes and drown in the alcohol.
One of the worst areas for rat sightings in Brooklyn is in Prospect Heights.
Residents in Lincoln Place between Washington and Underhill avenues say they are being plagued by pests which have infested the neighborhood.
On social media app Citizen Thursday it was reported that a rat was seen ‘foaming at the mouth’.
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A worker is seen above scooping up dead rats from the new alcohol traps being rolled out in Brooklyn
Rats caught by the alcohol-filled devices are seen above being scooped up by a pest controller
An NYPD spokeswoman could not confirm the app’s claim that police were responding to the report of the ‘vicious looking rat.’
‘JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THE RAT PROBLEM COULDN’T GET WORST,’ wrote the Prospect Heights Rat Task Force in a tweet about the offending rat that was directed at officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, demanding action.
The area where the offending rat was spotted was the epicenter for the ‘rat infestation,’ which has sounded off alarms through out the borough, a spokesman for Borough President Eric Adams told DailyMail.com.
A recent study by RentHop found 6,500 rat complaints were made in Brooklyn to the city’s 311 hotline in 2018, more than any of the city’s other boroughs.
Brooklynites have made disturbing reports on social media about the rodents, including a one on the ‘Citizen’ app Thursday of a rat seen near the epicenter of the problem that was ‘foaming at the mouth’
The Prospect Heights Task Force in a tweet (above) demanded action from Adams, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials
Rat Trap Inc., a company which uses a rodent mitigation device to lure in rodents with seeds to a sealed container where they then slip into a chamber filled with alcohol and vinegar and drown.
The $300 devices have initially been placed around Borough Hall and between August and September 107 rodents were captured.
‘Our pilot program shows that there is a sustainable way to mitigate rat problems in a way that causes no inconvenience to businesses or residents,’ said Adams.
However animal rights activists have called the method used for capturing and killing the rats inhumane.
‘Our pilot program shows that there is a sustainable way to mitigate rat problems in a way that causes no inconvenience to businesses or residents,’ said Adams (above) when he first unveiled the devices (left).
Rat Trap Inc., a company brought in to handle the rodent mitigation uses a device (above) that lures rats with seeds into a sealed container where they slip into a chamber filled with alcohol and vinegar and drown
Animal rights activists criticized Adams over the method used for capturing and killing the rats, saying it was inhumane. A tweet above from Spay Neuter Intervention Project charges Adams with ‘animal cruelty.’
‘All involved should be arrested and charged with animal cruelty,’ tweeted the Spay Neuter Intervention Project, also known as SNIP.
Voters For Animal Rights posted a statement on its website that ‘[a]ny veterinarian in the world would tell you that drowning is an incredibly inhumane way to kill a mammal.’
Allie Taylor, the group’s president, who wrote the statement, demanded another course of action and claimed her group represents more than ‘60,000 New York City humane voters.’
‘Drowning animals is barbaric,’ Taylor said in an email.
‘Eric Adams’ plan to deal with the rat issue will not work and is nothing more than a bizarre press stunt,’ she wrote.
Adams does intend to respond to the group, said his spokesman.
In the meantime, he wants his pilot program expanded, not just to Brooklyn but the entire city.
‘It’s time for the City to follow our lead and use a solution that works,’ he said in a statement.