life with rattus norvegicus

Living in the city means sharing space with rats. I know this and don't have a big problem with it. If every once in a while I see a rat ambling along the curb or poking its pointy little nose out from behind a dumpster, oh well; small cost of dwelling in the urban context.

At some point though, the happy prospect of peaceful coexistence is no longer appropriate. In Cambridge, or at least my part of it, that point has been passed.

Look - I have a great deal of respect for the rat as a marvel of nature and one of evolution's great success stories. Urban rats are consummate generalists, experts at adaptation and making the most of meager resources, and they are tireless workers. But too much success frequently begets enmity, and in my neighborhood the rats are too successful.

I have seen them dance across Washington Street in pairs in the morning, I've watched them capering near uncovered trash cans in bright summer sun, and I have chased them from my small vegetable garden upon discovering their assaults on my tomatoes at dusk. On garbage night they are legion. It is a genuine problem and I am not the only one who has noticed it.

So: If we could just see a map of where they are, what they are doing and when they are doing it we'd be well on the way to controlling this problem. To that end I've posted a collaborative map that can be used to track sitings of these busy little devils and their handiwork. If you go here you'll be able to add your information and help grow this map into something genuinely useful for understanding the scope and specifics of this problem.