You’ve seen the videos. Maybe it was the one of a rodent dragging a slice of dollar pizza down the subway stairs, or perhaps the more recent, nightmare-inducing clips of a huge rat in nyc casually hopping into a stroller or scurrying across a sleeping commuter's lap. New Yorkers are tough, but there is a specific kind of primal dread that kicks in when you realize the "squirrel" you just saw is actually a three-pound Brown Rat with zero fear of humans.
It’s not just your imagination. They really are everywhere.
For decades, the standard line was that there are as many rats as people in the five boroughs—roughly 8 million. That’s probably a myth, according to a 2014 study by statistician Jonathan Auerbach, who pegged the number closer to 2 million. But 2 million is still a staggering number of tails. Since the pandemic, the sightings have surged.
Complaints to the city's 311 hotline regarding rodent activity have hit record highs in recent years. This isn't just about a "messy city" anymore. It’s an infrastructure crisis, a public health battle, and, frankly, a bit of a PR disaster for a city trying to lure tourists back to its core.
The Science Behind the Size: Why New York Rats Look Like Monsters
People always ask: "Are they actually getting bigger?"
Well, yes and no. The species we deal with is Rattus norvegicus, the Norway Rat. These guys aren't naturally the size of house cats, but they are opportunistic feeders. If a rat has consistent access to high-protein, high-fat human waste—think discarded chicken wings, half-eaten burgers, and sugary soda—it will reach its maximum biological potential.
A well-fed male can easily weigh over a pound. Some have been documented at nearly two pounds. When you add in the fur and the long tail, a two-pound rat looks absolutely gargantuan.
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Evolution is also at play here. Life in the subway is a literal survival of the fittest. The smart ones avoid the traps. The big ones win the fights for the best trash bags. Basically, we have spent a century accidentally breeding a super-rat that is perfectly adapted to the urban landscape. They’ve developed resistance to certain types of rodenticides, and they’ve learned the schedules of the sanitation trucks better than most residents have.
The "Rat Czar" and the War on Trash
For a long time, the city’s approach was reactive. You see a rat, you put out some poison. That failed.
Enter Kathleen Corradi, the city’s first-ever "Rat Czar," appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in 2023. The logic shifted from "killing rats" to "starving rats." If you want to get rid of a huge rat in nyc, you don't chase it with a broom; you take away its dinner.
The biggest change we’ve seen is the "Trash Revolution." For over 50 years, NYC was one of the only major global cities that left its garbage in loose plastic bags on the sidewalk. It was a 24-hour buffet. Now, the Department of Sanitation is mandating hard-sided containers for businesses and residential buildings.
It sounds simple. It’s actually a massive logistical headache.
New York’s sidewalks are narrow. Finding space for thousands of wheelie bins without blocking pedestrian traffic is a puzzle that city planners are still trying to solve. But the data shows it works. In "Rat Mitigation Zones"—areas like the Upper West Side and parts of Brooklyn where these rules were first enforced—sightings have actually started to dip.
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Methods That Actually Work (and Some That Don't)
- Carbon Dioxide Ice: This is one of the more "humane" and effective ways the city handles burrows in parks. They drop dry ice into the holes and seal them. As it melts, the CO2 puts the rats to sleep permanently. No secondary poisoning for hawks or owls.
- Burrow Collapsing: Simply filling a hole isn't enough. They’ll dig out in minutes. Modern teams use crushed glass and heavy-duty "Rat-Out" slurry to ensure the tunnels stay dead.
- Mint-Scented Bags: There was a trend of using trash bags infused with mint oil. Rats hate the smell. It helps a bit, but honestly, a hungry rat will chew through almost anything if the smell of old pepperoni is stronger than the peppermint.
Why You Shouldn't Feed the "Celebrity" Rodents
We’ve all seen the social media accounts dedicated to NYC wildlife. "Pizza Rat" became a global sensation. There was "Escalator Rat" and "Hennessy Rat."
While these videos get millions of views, they mask a darker reality. Rats are vectors for diseases like Leptospirosis, which can be fatal to dogs and, in rare cases, humans. In 2023, NYC saw a record number of human Leptospirosis cases. It’s still a small number in the grand scheme of a city of millions, but the upward trend is concerning to the Department of Health.
When people drop food to get a video of a huge rat in nyc, they are actively contributing to a public health hazard. They aren't cute pets. They are wild animals that have become emboldened by our own bad habits.
The Suburban Migration: It’s Not Just Manhattan Anymore
Interestingly, the rat problem has migrated. It used to be a "downtown" issue. Now, leafy blocks in Queens and Staten Island are reporting sightings of massive rodents that were previously unheard of in those neighborhoods.
Why? Outdoor dining.
The pandemic-era "Open Restaurants" program saved the hospitality industry, but the wooden sheds built over gutters became permanent luxury condos for rats. They provided shelter from rain, warmth from heaters, and a floor that was impossible to clean under. The city is now overhauling these rules, requiring sheds to be removable and much cleaner, but the "under-decking" rat populations have already established themselves.
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How to Protect Your Own Space
If you live in the city or are just visiting, you have to be "rat-aware." This isn't about being scared; it's about being smart.
Rats have poor eyesight but incredible senses of smell and touch. They follow "runways"—the edges of buildings and walls. If you see a dark, greasy smudge along the base of a wall, that’s "sebum," the oils from rat fur. That’s a high-traffic highway. Don't leave your bags there.
For residents, the best defense is sealing the "pencil-sized" gap. A rat can fit through a hole the size of a quarter. A mouse can fit through a gap the size of a pencil. Using steel wool and caulking to seal entries around pipes is more effective than any store-bought spray.
Actionable Steps for New Yorkers and Visitors
- Manage your waste: If you're a resident, use the mandated bins. If you're a visitor, never leave food containers on top of a full trash can. Take it to the next one.
- Report sightings accurately: Don't just complain on X (formerly Twitter). Use the 311 app. The city uses this data to map "Rat Mitigation Zones." If a block doesn't report, it doesn't get the extra resources.
- Watch your pets: Keep dogs on a leash in parks, especially near ivy or heavy ground cover. These are prime burrowing spots.
- Support the containerization move: It might be annoying to lose a parking spot to a shared trash container, but it’s the only way to stop the 2 a.m. sidewalk feast.
The battle against the huge rat in nyc is far from over. It’s a war of attrition. We won’t ever "win" in the sense of eliminating them entirely—they’ve been here since the 1700s, arriving on ships from Europe—but we can certainly make the city less hospitable for them. It starts with the trash. It ends with a city that doesn't smell like a buffet at 3 a.m.
If you see a monster scurry by tonight, just remember: it’s only there because we gave it a reason to stay. Stop giving them a reason, and they'll head back to the shadows where they belong.