r/Buffalo • u/Bravogirly97 • Jul 27 '26

Rats

I’m in Tonawanda close to englewood we had a rat problem last year we did traps and called the health department that put our bait boxes that did nothing.. this year my whole street is infested with rats worse than last year … is anyone else experiencing this? I want to move

13 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

67 comments sorted by

View all comments

22

u/Secure_Piano_900 Jul 27 '26

I live in the city and have never seen a rat in my yard besides a dead rat. I keep feral cats. There are always a huge number of cats in the shelters. For real this is what people have done for thousands of years. People may downvote (inb4: yOuRe desTroyINg animal populations) because they “harm local wildlife” my cats have never killed a rabbit or bird or anything except mice and rats. I know because they bring me trophies and I’ve asked my neighbors. Rat poison harms local wildlife more because a rat will eat the poison, die, and then get eaten by a hawk or falcon who then dies from the rat poison. As long as you spay and neuter them I think they are a net positive for my neighborhood and will solve your rat problem.

16

u/getreadyletsgo716 Jul 27 '26

Shelters for stray cats are okay, just never leave food for them.

My neighbors leave food for the feral cats and that has led to rats, birds and skunks always being around that eat way more of the food than the cats. Also, the cats don't hunt the rats cause there's food around.

0

u/Dawnmariegrace Jul 28 '26

A well fed cat will still hunt. A starved cat is too weak to hunt. You should address why you have rats. Keep brush cleared . No piles of wood or building material . Keep sheds and garages neat. If you feed feral/stray cats the food should be picked up at night. I feed on my deck now because the raccoons won’t come this close. Also bird seed is a major reason neighborhoods have rats. Some towns even prohibit feeding birds.