Rodents complaints come from eveyrywhere in NYC

In the 2017 Walt Disney Pictures animated/live-action film "Enchanted," the protagonist Giselle from the fairy tale world was ousted into New York City by an evil queen. Giselle was distressed by the different environment in a city where many people don't believe in magic, but a kind girl helped and offered to let her stay in her place.

To repay her kindness, Giselle asked the animals in New York to help her clean up the house. (She is a Disney princess, so she is bound to have the power to control animals with song!)

Instead of cute birds or rabbits, the animals are rats and mice.

However, in reality, these rodents never help humans. Instead, they are a nuisance to the city and people are constantly complaining about them.

This just in: pizza ratS pic.twitter.com/bpxBv5oupM

— Abbi Crutchfield (@curlycomedy) March 20, 2022

According to the New York Time's report, more than 21,000 rat sightings were reported to 311 from January 2021 to November in the same year, which represents a 20% increase over the same period in 2019.

It was speculated, among other things, that outdoor dining sheds could be one of the factors leading to more rodent sightings.

It was speculated, among other things, that outdoor dining sheds could be one of the factors leading to more rodent sightings. Particulariy those abondoned ones are "already rodent playpens".

Usually, rats will be attracted to affluent food sources instinctively. In addition, people tend to drop their food when dining outdoors. But are rats and mice commonly found near restaurants?

According do the data of 311 complaints and restrants location, however, it seems restaurants are not the only breeding ground for rats. Restaurants inspected between April 2021 and February 2022 are shown as blue dots on the map below. The orange dots indicate the locations of 311 complaints regarding rat and mouse sightings in the same period.

It is common to see rats and mice in areas without many restaurants, such as Harlem and the area around Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Although this data is restricted to a certain period, restaurants and outdoor dining may not be the only ones to blame. In fact, rodents are everywhere in the city.