You Dirty Rat

[watgate]

First off I want to preface what I about to say with the sincere intention to no way disparage or discredit Chiang Mai. In fact, I live in a neighboring state not too far from New York City so I am very much aware of what goes on there and its resultant problems. I have seen many rats in NYC so it seems like maybe this is a problem in cities with large populations. What I am wondering is does Chiang Mai have a big problem with rats like NYC does? I have recently seen some rats around Chiang Mai, besides the moat areas,and it got me wondering how pervasive the rat problem is. Has anyone had any firsthand experiences with rats in Chiang Mai or have seen any? My g/f laughed when I asked her about the rat situation and said in the farm village where she is from they always used to eat them. That was an interesting perspective and once again told me I am not in Kansas. Any way I am still enamored by all Chiang Mai has to offer and won't let a few recalcitrant rats rain on my parade.

[Honkie]

Those buggers are Everywhere , not limited to Chiang Mai. Just bought a Sig Sauer Co2 to deal with them , but they are too fast so now looking to get a machine gun(electic )!!!

[masuk]

I often take a morning walk in the village area behind the Condo I stay at. Any vacant block of land seems to be an open invitation for Thais to dump their rubbish, and I see big rats, fat rats, baby rats amongst the junk every morning.

Rice offerings are put out for religious reasons, and the rats and pigeons fatten on these.

Where there's people, there are rats. It's a fact of life.

[khwaibah]

BBQ RAT. My favorit. And yes I took this photo.

[Matej]

Rat problem has every city in Thailand. It's everywhere ...

There's nothing you can do about that, get used to it.

Good luck

[Tywais]

Keep meat away from rats, says Chiang Mai Environmental H...

Photos included.

[rawhod]

Are you never more than 6ft away from a rat?

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20716625

Assuming you're standing at a given spot in an urban area you would be at most 164ft (50m) away.

Saying you're always 164ft away from a rat doesn't have quite as much of a fear factor as 6ft away, but it's much more of a realistic estimate.

[luke000]

I always avoid the black plastic bags of rubbish left out at night , after having kicked rats when they scurry out as I walk past

[lovelomsak]

I grew in a area of the world without rats.I had to go to Mexico in my 20's to see my first rat. I donot like them at all,think they are a single of dirty conditions of living by humans. Thailand has so many rats I now learned to live with it.

[northernjohn]

I have never seen one. Then again I don't go looking for them.

I am sure they are around in some of the vacant lot's I walk by and

so are snakes but I haven seen them either. Well I did see one it

fell out of a tree onto my friends truck tio

[MaeJoMTB]

I cycle into CM from MaeJo often, and around the town.

The roadside is littered with large rat roadkill.

Not just the urban areas but around the rice paddy as well.

More this year than ever before.

Never seen anything like it.

Edited January 4, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[bangmai]

I think the situation has improved in BKK, but gotten worse here. It got so bad in BKK; they had to finally deal with it. It's got to get a little worse before it gets better......Rats were responsible for the Bubonic Plague. Garbage with food waste...it's a rat magnet. I will not go to any food establishment, where I spot a rat, for at least a year. I think a lot of the street food may be more rat free than the restaurants...no place for them to hide, when the restaurant is disassembled on a nightly basis.

[NancyL]

We came here in 2006 for a month to investigate retirement and decided it was for us, but not for our dog, a champion ratter, because she was a farm ratter. We knew if we tried to turn her into a city dog and walk her on a lease we'd have major, major problems. She was great on the farm. No mammal smaller than her stayed alive for very long on the farm. But, she wasn't very good on a lease. If had actually imported her here into the condo life (same one where Masuk lives), Hubby's morning walks would have been anything but peaceful. A 35 pound terrier would have dragged him all over the Old City in search of the rats.

[worgeordie]

No matter where you are there will always be more,lots more, rats than people,

even in squeaky clean Singapore ,from the hotel window,a lady ,every evening

would put food down for the stray cats,and in minutes the scraps were over run

with rats,the cats did not stand a chance.

regards worgeordie

[orchidlady]

Take a walk in any of the streets leading away from the night bazaar when the vendors(food) close up at night and leave their trash out. You will see rats the size of chihuahuas come out. Had one run across my foot when I first came to Chiang Mai. Thought it was a small dog, scared theXXXX out of me.

[Chiengmaijoe]

There are thousands of rats in chiang Mai. The two main reasons for rats hanging around are daily offerings of food on shrines and people putting their rubbish out on the side of the road. Along the moat is an almost perfect environment as the plastic bags full of leftovers from the restaurants are put out every night to feed them, they have drains leading to the moat as shelter and water from the moat to drink. There are so many rats that I have seen owls flying by looking for rats to feed on.

In the central plains they do indeed eat field rats, but I assume they are a lot cleaner than sewer rats!

[northernjohn]

I think the situation has improved in BKK, but gotten worse here. It got so bad in BKK; they had to finally deal with it. It's got to get a little worse before it gets better......Rats were responsible for the Bubonic Plague. Garbage with food waste...it's a rat magnet. I will not go to any food establishment, where I spot a rat, for at least a year. I think a lot of the street food may be more rat free than the restaurants...no place for them to hide, when the restaurant is disassembled on a nightly basis.

Years ago I read in Lonely Planet that the street carts gave

you a chance to see the kitchen.