Written By: Andrea Blanco
Desperate New York City restaurant owners are getting creative to combat the city’s rodent infestation, which has seen rat sightings increase by 40% in 2021 compared to 2019.
Restaurateurs attribute the surge in critters to irregular trash collection and street-cleaning services during the pandemic, exacerbated by staff shortages.
The savvy New York rats, spoiled for choice in scraps, now require special bait to lure them in – peanut butter Oreo cookies.
“Peanut butter Oreos are the best,” said Jim Webster, director of operations at Rat Trap Distribution, praising his secret weapon.
Rat Trap Distribution leases a two-feet tall Ekomille trap to restaurants for $250 a month. The trap entices rodents with cookies and uses a safe alcohol-based substance to kill them.
Pat Marino, founder of Rat Distribution, dubbed himself a ‘ratologist’ after bringing the Italian device to the US in 2019. He revealed that about 165 devices are now installed across New York City.
Incoming mayor Eric Adams has endorsed the device, calling it “amazing” and hinting at expanded distribution across the city.
New York City’s rat problem is notorious, with residents often humorously acknowledging its presence.
In 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a $32 million project to address the issue, but challenges persist, worsened by a $106 million cut in the sanitation department’s budget and staff shortages due to vaccine mandates.
Casa La Femme, an Egyptian restaurant in the West Village, is among many restaurants leasing Ekomille traps to combat rodents.
Anastasios Hairatidis, inspired by a Rat Distribution video, promptly ordered a device for his restaurant, noting, “It’s really for the community.”
The traps use cookies, sunflower seeds, and other baits to lure rats onto a platform where they eventually fall into a lower compartment filled with a noxious substance, rendering them unconscious and drowning them.
Rat Distribution ensures the removal of carcasses and cleaning of devices after use.
While effective for customers, the method has drawn criticism from PETA, describing it as another cruel act against animals simply trying to survive.
According to PETA, the Ekomille represents a new way to torment and kill small animals who are merely seeking to live, much like any other New Yorker.