RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Giant Rat Found Inside Of A Foot Locker Store

Yesterday someone Tweeted this photo of a giant monster rat, supposedly discovered at a Foot Locker in the Bronx. You might recognize this guy, as he bears a striking resemblance to the 3-foot-long beast that was stabbed with a pitchfork in Brooklyn last year. That one was believed to be a Gambian pouched rat, and may have been someone's escaped pet. However, it wasn't the first one spotted in that area, and locals believed they were multiplying faster than Gremlins taking a bath.

With this spotting in the Bronx, we think it's safe to say this superbreed of mutant rat is priming for a takeover of the five boroughs (everyone grab some Mountain Dew). Was there anything in that Mayan prophecy about rodents?

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rats: Holiday Spirit, in Rodent Form

During the holidays, if kids become brats, you can shout with a straight face, “Start acting like rats!’’ According to a study in the journal Science, University of Chicago researchers discovered that lab rats can show empathy — a quality not previously demonstrated in rodents — at levels that are rare even in primates.

Free rats sensed distress in caged rats and worked tirelessly to free them. When chocolate chips were added to the experiment, the free rat did not selfishly gobble them up and let the caged rat languish. It still freed the other rat and shared the sweets. Researchers hope their observations will inform studies of human empathy. Despite the rat’s image as the first creature to abandon a sinking ship, the new finding may inspire a rising tide of concern for one’s fellow beings, especially during the holidays. If even rats put others first, surely humans can, too.

Source = Bostonglobe.com

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Mouse Scurries Around Bag of McDonald’s Hamburger Rolls: Employee Catches Rodent on Cell Phone Video

A former fast food employee says mice ran rampant in the Philadelphia McDonald’s where he worked, and he caught it all on tape, Fox News reported.

Video shows a mouse scurrying around inside a plastic bag filled with hamburger buns at the McDonald’s on Stenton Avenue in the West Oak Lake section of Philadelphia, where Karrium Demaio, 29, worked.

Demaio says he frequently saw mouse droppings, and was told to brush them off the bread and serve them to customers.

“There hasn’t been a time when we couldn’t go in the back and see mouse droppings on the bread,” he said.

He told Fox News he revealed the video, which was shot in November, because he wanted to warn customers.

“That wasn’t the first time. That was about the sixth or seventh time,” he said. “That’s what made me like, I got to get video of this.

“I was going back there to get something else and I heard some rustling, so I turned around, and I look, I seen a mouse inside the bread. Not on top of the package, but inside of the package.”

Demaio worked at the store from October 2010 to January of this year, when he was fired for skipping a shift.

He told Fox News that he’s worked at two other McDonald’s, but had never seen something like this.

The McDonald’s is “not in satisfactory compliance,” according to the Philadelphia Health Department, but inspectors did not cite evidence of rodents.

The store says it will address concerns the video surfaced.

“After viewing the video, we are going to continue to investigate this claim to make certain we have all the facts,” McDonalds owner and operator Ken Youngblood said in a statment.

“I want my customers to know that I am taking this matter seriously and will immediately address any issues that may exist. Therefore, if necessary, we will work with the appropriate authorities to get the facts.”

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA