气候变暖与城市生活方式如何助长国外鼠患围城
Ratmageddon: Why rats are overrunning our cities
译文简介
从伦敦克罗伊登到纽约、旧金山，国外多地正面临日益严重的鼠患危机。气温上升、垃圾管理不善、快餐文化盛行及城市高密度发展等因素共同催生老鼠数量激增。专家指出，传统毒饵与捕鼠器已难奏效，唯有通过改善城市环境、切断食物来源并推动全民参与的“综合害虫管理”，才有望遏制这场悄然蔓延的“鼠患围城”。
正文翻译
One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds.Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats.
去年某个清晨，约翰·格拉德温（John Gladwin）打开厨房水槽下方的橱柜，发现他存放在那里的装土壤的袋子被撕得粉碎。
几天后，他又闻到一股刺鼻的气味——那是一种霉味，略带涩感，很像他所住公寓楼公共垃圾区的味道。
"I knew what it was straight away," he says. "Rats."
He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too.
"I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing."
“我立刻就知道是怎么回事了，”他说，“是老鼠。”
他经常看到老鼠在垃圾桶附近窜来窜去。现在，它们也进了他的家。
“我在橱柜里、浴缸挡板后面都能听到它们的声音。有一天早上醒来，它们甚至在浴缸底下打架，发出尖叫声和吱吱声。”
Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food
约翰·格拉德温居住的克罗伊登（Croydon）小区鼠患严重——一只胆大的老鼠曾跳进垃圾袋，拖出一大块食物
Mr Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything."
格拉德温先生与五个孩子住在克罗伊登。发现问题后，他立即采取行动：撒上薄荷油、投放鼠药。到目前为止，老鼠还没再回来。但这次经历让他深受震动。“我很担心孩子们的健康，不想让他们染上什么病。”
There was another feeling too: shame.
"It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property."
他还有另外一种情绪，那就是羞耻。“说我们家里闹鼠灾、一家人住在老鼠横行的房子里，实在不是件体面的事。”
Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Mr Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years.
负责处理格拉德温所在小区鼠患问题的害虫防治公司 Cleankill 业务遍及英格兰南部。其创始人克莱夫·伯里（Clive Bury）表示，他注意到鼠患求助电话“显著”增加，估计过去两年增长了20%。
Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years.
类似的趋势在全英国范围内都在上演。英国害虫防治协会（BPCA）这一行业组织称，其超过半数的会员公司在过去五年中都报告了老鼠求助数量的上升。
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million.
老鼠生活在下水道、污水管和地洞中，主要在夜间活动，因此几乎无法准确统计其数量。英国的老鼠总数估计在1,000万到1.2亿之间。
What is known is that more than half a million rodent infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by repair company, Drain Detectives.
但有一点是确定的：根据维修公司Drain Detectives通过《信息自由法》请求所收集的数据，2023年至今年年中，英国各地市政部门收到的鼠患报告已超过50万起。
But it's not just affecting the UK.Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto.
而且这不仅限于英国。据报道，美国多个城市的老鼠数量也在激增，包括华盛顿特区、旧金山和纽约市，以及阿姆斯特丹和多伦多等地也是如此。
Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies.
尽管老鼠本身并非天生肮脏，但它们会在下水道和垃圾桶中觅食，并可能将严重疾病传染给人类。例如，钩端螺旋体病（又称威尔氏病）通过其尿液传播；汉坦病毒则可通过吸入受污染的粪便粉尘而感染。此外，它们还会啃食农田作物，污染食品供应链。
So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities?
既然老鼠如此狡猾，善于躲避捕杀——那么，我们究竟需要做些什么才能真正遏制它们？还是说，我们已经积重难返，注定要被老鼠占领城市？
EXPANING：Rising temperatures, rising rat activity
Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
扩展阅读：气温升高，鼠患加剧
鲍比·科里根（Bobby Corrigan）自称是一名“城市啮齿动物学家”。他最初是纽约市的一名灭鼠员，一生都与老鼠打交道。
"I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats."
“我曾经钻进下水道，试图挂上毒饵来杀死老鼠。”
Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.
多年后，在大学研究老鼠期间，他曾不惜一切代价观察它们的行为——有一次，他甚至睡在满是老鼠的谷仓地板上，以便亲身体验。
What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers.
令他震惊的是老鼠复杂的社会结构，以及表现出利他行为的证据。“我看到幼鼠叼着食物，喂给那些行动不便的老鼠，”他回忆道。
He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise.The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise
他也决心弄清老鼠数量上升的原因。克罗伊登这栋公寓楼里的老鼠数量正在增加。
There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute.
造成这一现象的原因有很多。BPCA的技术经理尼尔·加拉格尔（Niall Gallagher）表示，人们越来越爱吃快餐、一些地方市政垃圾清运频率降低，以及道路和建筑施工扰动了下水道系统，都是促成因素。
But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play.
但有证据表明，气温升高也可能在其中发挥作用。
Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases.
科学研究发现，老鼠种群对温度非常敏感。此前曾在纽约市卫生局担任研究科学家的科里根博士，与弗吉尼亚州里士满大学（University of Richmond）的研究人员合作，试图探究鼠患活动是否与气温升高相关。
Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years.
他们的研究调查了16座城市（主要位于北美），结果今年早些时候发表在《科学进展》（Science Advances）期刊上。研究发现，在7至17年的时间跨度内，其中11座城市的老鼠活动显著增加。
Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand鲍比·科里根博士曾睡在鼠患严重的谷仓地板上，以便亲身观察老鼠的行为模式。
In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans.
华盛顿特区的增长接近400%，旧金山为300%，多伦多180%，纽约160%。只有三座城市出现下降，包括东京和新奥尔良。
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研究指出：“气温升幅越大的城市，老鼠数量增长也越明显。” 在研究期间，一些地方的气温升幅接近2°C。
Dr Corrigan believes that - as long as temperatures continue to rise, and in particular winters become warmer - the increase in rat numbers is likely to continue.
科里根博士认为，只要气温继续上升——尤其是冬季变得更暖和——老鼠数量很可能会持续增加。
And global temperatures are indeed set to rise between at least 1.9C and 2.7C above the pre-industrial average by 2100, according to Climate Action Tracker, a group of independent climate researchers.
事实上，根据独立气候研究组织“气候行动追踪”（Climate Action Tracker）的预测，到2100年，全球气温将比工业化前水平至少上升1.9°C，最高可达2.7°C。
Phenomenal breeders - until it's cold
Rats are phenomenal breeders. A female typically has around six litters a year, each with up to 12 pups.
惊人的繁殖力——除非天冷
老鼠的繁殖能力惊人。一只雌鼠一年通常可产约六窝，每窝最多12只幼崽。
Those rats can start breeding after nine weeks, meaning two rats can potentially create more than 1,000 offspring in a single year.
这些幼鼠在出生后九周就能开始繁殖，这意味着一对老鼠理论上一年内可繁衍出超过1,000只后代。
Rats don't hibernate, so when exposed to the cold, it can kill them or result in them producing fewer pups, as baby rats are known – which slows population growth
老鼠不会冬眠，因此一旦暴露在寒冷环境中，可能会被冻死，或导致产仔数量减少——因为幼鼠对低温极为敏感，这种特性会减缓种群增长。
Researchers say numbers are particularly prone to increase in cities. That's because their heat-trapping tarmac and buildings tend to warm more quickly than rural areas.
And the trend of people moving from rural areas to cities is playing a part too, according to Dr Corrigan. "Land is disappearing like crazy, and we're putting up buildings so we reduce their [rats] habitat in the wild," he says.
Extra buildings means more nooks, pipes and drains for rats to live in. Which all adds to the challenge of how to best control growing populations.
研究人员表示，老鼠种群的数量在城市中尤其容易激增。这是因为城市的沥青路面和建筑物吸热快，升温速度远超农村地区。
科里根博士还指出，人口从农村向城市迁移的趋势也在推波助澜。“土地正在迅速消失，我们不断建楼，压缩了老鼠在野外的栖息地，”他说。更多建筑意味着更多可供老鼠藏身的缝隙、管道和排水沟，这进一步加大了控制其种群增长的难度。
A surprising superpower
One of the curious facts about rats - and one begins to explain why poison baits often don't work - is that they cannot vomit.
一项令人惊讶的“超能力”
关于老鼠的一个奇特事实——或许也能解释为何毒饵常常无效——就是它们不会呕吐。
In theory this means that once rat poison is ingested, they can't get rid of it. But rats are also "neophobic" or fearful of new things, according to Professor Steven Belmain, a professor of ecology at the University of Greenwich. He believes the two points are related.
理论上，一旦老鼠吞下毒药，就无法将其吐出。但格林威治大学生态学教授史蒂文·贝尔曼（Steven Belmain）指出，老鼠还具有“新奇恐惧症”（neophobia），即对新事物感到恐惧。他认为这两点密切相关。
It is something of a "superpower", he says, as when they come across a potential food they don't just dive in.
他说，这种特性堪称一种“超能力”：当它们遇到（新的）潜在食物时，并不会贸然大口贪吃。
"They will only try a little bit. So once they understand that they don't feel ill, they'll realise, 'okay, I can eat that'.
“它们只会尝一小口。如果之后没有感到不适，就会意识到‘好吧，这个可以吃’。”
"You could argue that this cautious approach to life has stood them well."
“可以说，这种谨慎的生活方式让它们受益匪浅。”
一位专家表示，解决方案的关键在于关注我们的城市环境，而非依赖捕鼠夹和毒饵
Dr Alan Buckle of the University of Reading has spent 30 years working to develop new rat poisons but - he tells me with a laugh - "I failed".
雷丁大学（University of Reading）的艾伦·巴克尔（Alan Buckle）博士花了30年时间研发新型鼠药，但他笑着告诉我：“我失败了。”
If a poison tastes bad or causes any discomfort or pain to a rat, they will not eat more. Which is why slower-acting substances, mainly anticoagulants - drugs that stop blood forming into clots - are used.
如果某种毒药味道不好，或让老鼠感到任何不适或疼痛，它们就不会再吃。因此，目前主要使用作用较慢的抗凝血剂（anticoagulants）——这类药物会阻止血液凝固。
These take up to a week to act, giving enough time for rats to eat a lethal dose. But they are recognised as a cruel way to die, killing the rats by causing internal bleeding.
What's more, in recent years rats have developed genetic mutations that give them some immunity to these powerful drugs too.
Some researchers are looking at the possibility of using oral contraceptives as an alternative, more humane way to prevent rat numbers growing further.
这类毒药需一周左右才生效，足以让老鼠摄入致死剂量。但这种方式被认为极其残忍，会导致老鼠因内出血而缓慢死亡。
更糟的是，近年来老鼠已进化出基因突变，对这些强效药物产生了一定免疫力。
一些研究人员正在探索使用口服避孕药作为替代方案，以更人道的方式抑制老鼠数量增长。
On patrol with the Rat Tsar
Few know this challenge better than Kathleen Corradi, a former schoolteacher who was appointed the city's Rat Tsar by the New York Mayor in 2023.
与“灭鼠沙皇”一起巡逻
很少有人比凯瑟琳·科拉迪（Kathleen Corradi）更了解这一挑战。她曾是一名小学教师，2023年被纽约市长任命为该市“灭鼠沙皇”（Rat Tsar）。
An estimated three million rats live in the five boroughs and Corradi was reportedly awarded $3.5m (£2.6m) to increase public awareness about rat mitigation.
She started what she calls a "rat academy" that teaches people how to stop their neighbourhood from being overrun by rats.
据估计，纽约五大行政区生活着约300万只老鼠。科拉迪reportedly获得了350万美元（约合260万英镑）的资金，用于提升公众对鼠患防控的意识。她创办了所谓的“老鼠学院”（rat academy），教市民如何防止社区被老鼠占领。
Kathleen Corradi was appointed New York's "Rat Tsar" to tackle the city's rat problem
凯瑟琳·科拉迪被任命为纽约市“灭鼠沙皇”，以应对该市的鼠患问题
"They take a rat walk with me, where we go out into neighbourhoods, and we talk about human behaviour and we talk about rat behaviour," she told the BBC earlier this month.
"We talk about how it all comes together and what they could be doing in their neighbourhoods."
Her team also urged New York residents to phone in if they see rats or evidence of behaviours likely to encourage rats. Inspectors investigate the reports and order action, with stiff fines if it isn't taken.
“他们会和我一起进行‘老鼠步行巡查’（rat walk），走进社区，讨论人类行为和老鼠行为，”她本月早些时候告诉BBC。
“我们会探讨两者如何相互作用，以及他们在自己社区可以做些什么。”
她的团队还敦促纽约市民一旦发现老鼠或可能吸引老鼠的行为，立即拨打热线举报。检查员会跟进调查，并责令整改，若不执行将处以高额罚款。
And there was another crucial change – instead of putting their rubbish out on the street in plastic bags, now most New Yorkers are obliged to put their waste in rat-proof bins.
Corradi is now leaving the role, but she says the approach is showing some progress.
Ultimately, she explained, "cutting off rats' food source is the key to a sustained reduction".
另一项关键改革是：纽约居民不再被允许将垃圾装在塑料袋中放在街边，而是必须使用防鼠垃圾桶。
科拉迪即将卸任，但她表示这一策略已初见成效。
归根结底，她解释道：“切断老鼠的食物来源，才是实现持续减少的关键。”
Overflowing bins and fast food
Back in Croydon, Alex Donnovan, a pest controller for Cleankill, leads me into the backyard of the estate where John Gladwin lives. It is just after dawn, and he gestures for me to stay still and keep quiet.
溢出的垃圾桶与快餐文化
回到克罗伊登，Cleankill公司的害虫防治员亚历克斯·多诺万（Alex Donnovan）带我来到约翰·格拉德温所住小区的后院。当时刚过黎明，他示意我保持安静、原地不动。
Moments later, there is a rustling and a rat darts from beneath the concrete walkway towards the communal bins. Next, the head of a large rat emerges from a burrow at the end of the garden.
片刻后，一阵窸窣声传来，一只老鼠从混凝土步道下窜出，直奔公共垃圾桶。接着，一只大老鼠的头从花园尽头的一个地洞中探了出来。
During the two hours we spent on the estate, some rats climbed high into a tree, while a particularly brazen one jumped into a bin and pulled a hunk of food from a plastic bag while I watched on, less than a metre away.
在我们在小区巡视的两个小时里，有些老鼠甚至爬上了树；而一只特别大胆的老鼠跳进一个垃圾桶，从不到一米远的地方，当着我的面从塑料袋里拖出一大块食物。
Mr Donnovan believes it is almost impossible to get control of an infestation of this scale. "There's just so much food." He gestures to bins overflowing with rubbish bags.
"Even if we put down rodenticide, they won't eat it. They are just not interested… Once these bins are infested with rats, the bin men don't want to collect it either."
多诺万先生认为，面对如此规模的鼠患，几乎不可能彻底控制。“食物太多了。”他指着那些溢出垃圾袋的垃圾桶说道。
“即使我们投放灭鼠药，它们也不会吃——它们根本没兴趣……一旦这些垃圾桶被老鼠占据，垃圾清运工也不愿收走。”
住在该小区的约翰·格拉德温表示，在家中发现老鼠让他担忧孩子的健康，也让他感到羞耻
Warmer temperatures may well help fuel growing rat populations but our overflowing bins, fondness for fast food and fractured communities all add to the challenge of keeping it under control.
气温升高或许确实在助长老鼠种群扩张，但我们溢出的垃圾桶、对快餐的热爱以及社区凝聚力的削弱，都让控制鼠患变得更加困难。
In the UK there are more people than ever are living in closer proximity. The Office for National Statistics projects the population will increase from 67.6 million in 2022 to 72.5 million by 2032, with the proportion living in urban areas growing too.
在英国，越来越多的人生活在更密集的环境中。英国国家统计局预测，人口将从2022年的6760万增至2032年的7250万，且居住在城市地区的人口比例也将继续上升。
So, instead of hoping poison will do the trick, the solution could come down to something far more straightforward.
因此，与其寄希望于毒药奏效，解决方案或许要简单得多。
Rats are thriving in cities, fuelled by overflowing bins, fast food and dense urban living
鼠群在城市中蓬勃发展，得益于溢出的垃圾桶、快餐文化和高密度的城市生活
"If we take care of our city environment, then we won't have to worry about being so inhumane to them," argues Dr Corrigan.
“如果我们能好好维护城市环境，就不必对老鼠如此残忍，”科里根博士主张。
"By not giving [rats access to] the food and scraps, then we don't have to poison them and kill them and torture them and all the crazy things we do to them."
The challenge now is how to do that, and at speed. After all, as he puts it, we have already "underestimated them".
"We ignored rats and let them get out of hand… and now we are paying the price."
“只要不让它们接触到食物残渣，我们就无需毒杀、虐杀或用各种疯狂手段对付它们。”
现在的挑战是如何快速实现这一点。毕竟，正如他所说，我们早已“低估了它们”。
“我们忽视了老鼠，任其失控……现在正为此付出代价。”
Rats worldwide are enjoying the perks of climate change
A new study has lixed increasing temperatures to growing rat populations.
Climate change is contributing to a global rise in urban rat infestations, according to a new Science Advances study.
As temperatures increase, rats are better able to thrive -- even in inclement weather that would typically deter the population's growth, the article explained.
全球老鼠正享受气候变化带来的“红利”
一项新研究将气温升高与老鼠数量激增联系起来。
根据发表在《科学进展》上的一项新研究，气候变化正在推动全球城市鼠患的加剧。
文章解释称，随着气温升高，老鼠即使在原本会抑制其种群增长的恶劣天气下，也能更好地生存繁衍。
Feed a Pigeon, Feed a Rat sign on fence outside public park, discouraging feeding the birds and help reduce rat population, Queens, New York.
纽约皇后区一处公园围栏上的标语：“喂鸽子=喂老鼠”，劝阻人们投喂鸟类，以帮助减少鼠患
Temperatures in urban settings have been projected to rise between 1.9 degrees and 4.4 degrees by the year 2100 due to greenhouse gas emissions, according to the study.
该研究指出，由于温室气体排放，预计到2100年，城市地区的气温将上升1.9°C至4.4°C。
"So we imagine it probably increases their survival over the winter. And we're pretty sure that that increased food intake also will lead to more reproductive bouts for these rats, which can accelerate population growth," Jonathan Richmond, the study's lead author and professor of biology at University of Richmond, told ABC news.
“我们认为，这很可能提高了老鼠的冬季存活率。而且我们相当肯定，食物摄入增加也会促使它们更频繁地繁殖，从而加速种群增长，”该研究首席作者、里士满大学生物学教授乔纳森·里士满（Jonathan Richmond）告诉美国广播公司（ABC）新闻。
Richardson also suggested that less vegetation, along with denser living conditions and strapped rat control resources, are helping rats thrive in many North American cities.
里士满还指出，植被减少、居住密度更高以及鼠患防控资源紧张等因素，也在帮助老鼠在许多北美城市中繁衍生息。
The study, which examined public complaint and inspection data in 16 cities worldwide, found that most places had increased rat growth trends. Some places are managing the "ratpocalypse" better than others, the study found.
这项研究分析了全球16个城市的公众投诉和检查数据，发现大多数地方的老鼠数量呈上升趋势。不过，有些城市在应对这场“鼠疫末日”（ratpocalypse）方面表现更好。
In Washington, D.C., for example, the rat population is growing 1.5 times faster than it is in New York City, because the more northerly city has taken notable steps to keep rodents in check. In New Orleans and Tokyo – two cities with robust rodent response teams and good citizen reporting systems – the rat populations appear to be shrinking.
例如，华盛顿特区的老鼠数量增长速度是纽约市的1.5倍，因为这座更靠北的城市已采取显著措施控制鼠患。而在新奥尔良和东京——这两个城市拥有强大的鼠患应急团队和良好的市民举报系统——老鼠数量似乎正在减少。
Richardson said that cities experiencing declines might be outliers, rather than part of a broader trend, though he did note that in Tokyo, residents seem willing to post rat sightings on social media in a "name and shame" approach to getting businesses to clean up their act.
里士满表示，出现下降趋势的城市可能是例外，而非普遍现象。但他也提到，在东京，居民似乎愿意在社交媒体上发布老鼠目击信息，通过“点名羞辱”的方式促使商家清理环境。
There are several reasons to be concerned about potential rat boom.
老鼠数量激增令人担忧的原因有很多。
"Rats transmit more than 50 zoonotic pathogens," Richardson said. "They're a big a big potential vector for people getting sick with some of those pathogens and the diseases they cause."
“老鼠可传播50多种人畜共患病原体，”里士满说，“它们是人类感染这些病原体并患病的重要潜在媒介。”
Kathleen Corradi, the citywide director of rodent mitigation and the so-called "rat czar" of New York City, added that rats are also bad for mental health -- citing a previous study suggesting that experiencing rats on a daily basis increases the risk of depression more than fivefold.
纽约市全市鼠患防控主管、人称“灭鼠沙皇”的凯瑟琳·科拉迪补充道，老鼠还会损害心理健康——她引用一项先前研究指出，每天接触老鼠会使患抑郁症的风险增加五倍以上。
"And when you look even deeper at income level and demographics, it gets even more significant for lower incomes, non-white communities around white individuals," Corradi explained.
“而且当你深入分析收入水平和人口结构时，这种影响在低收入、非白人社区中比在白人社区更为显著，”科拉迪解释道。
Richardson emphasized that controlling rat populations isn't just the city's responsibility. Residents also have to pitch in to keep rats at bay, and city-led efforts to educate residents on understanding rat control can help.
里士满强调，控制鼠患不仅是市政府的责任，居民也必须参与其中。由政府主导的鼠患防控教育有助于提升公众意识。
"The everyday person can play a role in this in terms of making sure their own properties don't have conditions that support rats, securing their own food waste, making sure their garbage ends up in a containerized dumpster or garbage can," he said.
“普通人也可以发挥作用，比如确保自家环境不具备吸引老鼠的条件，妥善密封厨余垃圾，确保垃圾投入封闭式垃圾桶或垃圾箱，”他说。
Corradi agreed, adding that composting or otherwise removing food scraps from the garbage means "you're already doing a tremendous job to cut off rats' access to food."
科拉迪表示赞同，并补充道，堆肥或将食物残渣从普通垃圾中分离，“就已经是在大幅切断老鼠的食物来源了。”
She said that New York City, for one, is tackling its rat problem by cutting off the creatures' food supply through widespread use of garbage containers and by educating its residents on prevention. Also helping to combat the program is the city's Rat Pack program, which empowers New Yorkers to take action by learning how to keep their neighborhoods vermin-free, Corradi explained said.
她介绍，纽约市正通过广泛使用防鼠垃圾桶和开展居民预防教育来切断老鼠的食物供应。此外，该市的“鼠患小队”（Rat Pack）项目也鼓励市民学习如何让自己的社区免受鼠害。
However, as cities warm up, the efforts will have to expand to stay ahead of the problem, Richardson warned.
然而，里士满警告，随着城市持续变暖，相关措施必须进一步扩大，才能跑赢问题的发展速度。
"I think it's important that we have to move away from traps and rodenticide poisons as the main solution," he said. "Cities have to start really embracing this concept of integrated pest management, where instead of just applying poison baits, most of their efforts are dedicated to eliminating those conducive conditions that support the rats."
“我认为，我们必须摒弃以捕鼠夹和毒饵为主的传统思路，”他说，“城市需要真正拥抱‘综合害虫管理’（integrated pest management）理念——即不再仅仅投放毒饵，而是将大部分精力用于消除有利于老鼠生存的环境条件。”
City residents are encouraged to report sightings through local hotlines like 311 to help officials track and control rodent populations.
纽约市民被鼓励通过311等本地热线举报老鼠目击情况，以帮助相关部门追踪和控制鼠患。