For decades, cities around the world have waged a war on rats. These pests can cause all sorts of havoc in urban environments. They are linked to a variety of diseases, can harm the mental health of city dwellers, damage infrastructure and be a death knell for local businesses. In sum, the cost of infestations can be great on the economy and health.
The “war on rats” has shown little progress, argues a study published last month in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. To get a handle on these crafty critters, the authors say we need to take a new approach that looks beyond the rats themselves to address wider community issues.
