Ongoing construction, as well as a growing population, are driving 1 billion hungry mice from their hideouts to cafes and restaurants.
Mice experts believe the vibrations of Sydney's light rail and other construction projects, food residue left by construction workers and recent hot weather have led to increased activity this summer. If you average the rats, each Sydney person can have a maximum of 200 rats.
(photo source: daily Telegraph)
Anthony Bond, Budget Pest Control's boss, said he was drowning in "rat hunting".
"the city has always had rats, but this summer there have been a particularly large number of rats," Bond said. "I've done 40 percent more rat hunting this year than I did last year."
(photo source: daily Telegraph)
On Saturday, Bond said on his way to work in Rushcutters Bay, East Sydney, that many people chose to eat outdoors, and that the abundance of food made rats increasingly picky.
"the mice in the restaurant sometimes find it difficult to be attracted to bait because they are satisfied with the food they eat." "I have to prepare strawberries, blueberries and $7 a pack of premium assorted cereal as bait," he said. They don't like cheap food without dried fruits and nuts. They're very picky. "
On Thursday, a video of Westfield Pitt Street's Dingtai Fung restaurant went viral, with a mouse walking through the restaurant's kitchen. Sydney has asked the Westfield to review its pest control program.
(photo source: daily Telegraph)
A sickening mouse infection occurred in, Oportos Broadway on January 22.
Mice can spread leptospirosis, salmonella and Escherichia coli, causing serious harm to human health. All three deworming experts expressed sympathy for the rat incident in Dingtai Fung, saying the problem was more likely to be a building problem than just a restaurant problem.
Mathew Crowther, an associate professor and mouse expert at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, said rats were "very common" in the Westfield shopping district.
"there are a lot of rats next to Hyde Park. Other restaurants also have mice. " "mice eat cockroaches, insects and anything they can find," he said. When the weather is hot and wet, there are more insects, so they come out to hunt for them. But now they seem to prefer Porto and Chinese. "
(photo source: daily Telegraph)
Sydney issued 35 penalties for infringing pests, including mice, cockroaches, insects and other pests, in 18 years in 2017.
Last year, 105 food retailers across the state were blacklisted by the New State Food Administration's (NSW food Authority) for pest control issues.
It is estimated that there are 500 to 1 billion rats in the Greater Sydney area, or 200 per person. With plenty of food and water, the two mice could multiply into millions in four years.
Professor Crowther argues that light rail construction and workers dumping food debris along the road led rats out of the hole.
A Sydney-based speaker said: "there is an unprecedented number of large-scale demolition and construction works going on throughout the CBD area, which not only increases the number of mice, but also leads to increased rat activity."
"Unfortunately, rat activity cannot be completely eradicated. There are always public places where baits are needed to catch mice, and especially is in places where food and garbage are discarded. Sydney has a comprehensive pest control program. "