Why Do They Allow The Rats?

[AyG]

Rats are the source of the fleas that carry Bubonic Plague. if you go where the rats are located, you may be bitten by the fleas. Perhaps, that's okay with you. End of story.

Rats have been completely exonerated. The current most likely culprit is gerbils.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/24/after-8-centuries-rats-exonerated-in-spread-of-black-death-gerbils-implicated/

[bkk6060]

I can put it down to stupidity/lazyness....recently went to Pattaya and was disgusted at the beach, it was alive with rats at 7pm

Seriously?

Then don't walk there.

They have been there for over 30 years.

You have a Thai wife and over 5,000 posts and a few rats bother you?

The drunks, hookers, smell of urine and fecal matter bother you also?

What's next too many Mosquitos?

Edited January 20, 2016 by bkk6060

[bkk6060]

I can put it down to stupidity/lazyness....recently went to Pattaya and was disgusted at the beach, it was alive with rats at 7pm

Seriously?

Then don't walk there.

They have been there for over 30 years.

You have a Thai wife and over 5,000 posts and a few rats bother you?

The drunks, hookers, smell of urine and fecal matter bother you also?

What's next? Too many Mosquitos?

[ozyjon]

Why Do They Allow The Rats in?

I'm sorry i thought this post was ''immigration'' related

[Beats56]

One of the reasons I left Hua Hin was because of the rat population. Pattaya is bad too, the beach is infested. Walking near Mikes Mall on the pavement I watched loads of rats running in and out the small shops !

[Beats56]

They have eradicated rats in Alberta Canada many years ago. If one is spotted it is a big deal. We had a few here at our house and the neighbors cat made short work of them. Haven't seen any in quite a while. Hate them things. Also put screens under the lids of the water drains to keep them out. So far seems to work.

[piersbeckett]

Yer 'country' rat is a delicacy found in the rice paddies but yer 'town' rat although tolerated is not eaten. Apparently they are different species as well as having different diets. The female (of the 'country' rat is, I'm told, more tasty).

I suppose the reason the 'town' rats are tolerated is that no-one can be bothered to kill them as they can't be eaten. TIT

[Blue Muton]

The only rats I've seen here are the ones that my wife's uncle traps to eat. Being surrounded by rice fields there must be plenty. I was warned to keep away from any fields with red lights at night as it is to warn against the attempts to electrocute the vermin. Sadly one of our nephews was too pissed to heed that advice a while back and was killed.

[Blue Muton]

sorry for duplicate post, please delete.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Blue Muton

[willyumiii]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

You are confused.

It is Hindus who don't kill cows,

Buddhist eat cows, and roaches too!

I is one and I do too!

[oldgent]

was staying with an x girlfriend in Burriram provence a few years back one lovely evening i was enjoying

a nice cool Chang when this most horrible smell reached me i traced the source of it, her Papa was barbecuen

a large rat , i didnt stay around to see him eat it. advice to Op take a couple of Jack Russels with you next time

result no more rats

[tonray]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

You are confused.

It is Hindus who don't kill cows,

Buddhist eat cows, and roaches too!

I is one and I do too!

Buddhism originated in India (Buddha was born in the Indus valley) ....if you look closely at any shrine to Buddhism (every commercial building) you will see an assortment of Hindu Gods and Deities adorning the shrine. This is why Thai Buddhism is closely linked to Hindu religious customs and why many (not all) Thai Buddhists abstain form eating beef.

[connda]

If you don't like rats, move back to the cleanliness of a First World city like New York City. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/10/15/new-york-city-rats-carry-pathogens-bacteria/17295367/

Errrr....nevermind.

[michaelgoulden]

Thai businesses don’t ever appreciate our advice. It’s like telling them they have failed. It’s such an insult, and they are so consumed by it that they can never focus back to your reasoning. How dare an Alien comment on our business. Even years later they will still be consumed by the grief of your comments. Still never realising your comments was to benefit them.

The FACE thing is so strong. The Thai customers won’t say one word (just never come back). The foreigners who understand FACE won’t say one word (just never come back).And then there is you who tries to help but gets that <deleted> smile. Then they go bust.

But no family members or associates will discuss what happened to their investment....why?...FACE.

So lets us all just FACE it. Rats running all over the place ...for some...is ok. Why ...because they are thick as pig shit.

[Dumbastheycome]

It is one of those mysteries of Thailand. The conflict created by a lack of education as to the genuine definition of cleanliness, hygiene basics and a real comprehension of what bacteria, viruses,protazoa, microfilaria and the whole gambit of endemic infections the Thai population endures and suffers while too often apathetically accepting the symptoms can be explained away by being attributed to ghosts or blackmagic.

And even if sewer rats are commonly considered undesirable personal initiative to remedy a problem is muted by (again) the denial to demonstrate such an initiative.

As a result public hospitals are crammed daily to recieve usual bandaid care at a huge social cost.

Similarly , if not duplicitly, the same apathetic interest in official health policy is only broken by a crisis or potential epidemic situation resulting a knee jerk response to demonstrate some vague measure of responsibility.

The recent eventual death of a high profile celeb is/has been a sad way to provide some better insight to many in Thai society of the real potential danger of Dengue infection. Saddest is that the interest in that case has been greater for many than the same demise of community and/or family members which have been viewed with less concern previously.

Fatalism and apathy are the hallmarks of the ignorant and basically uneducated.

A previously busy restaurant that is now quiet may be as a result of the rat population.

But it is equally possible ( if not more so) that local two legged vermin that stand upright may be the initiating cause.

Yet that may b a simple manipulation of accounting.. A business that operates for a long period but appears to be unviable is often a tax avoidance facility for a much bigger joint investor .

[bangon04]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

Got to say I know plenty of Thai people who don't like rats and don't like seeing them in the street and wouldn't eat in a place where they had them. Same with cockroaches. It might be a class thing, but it's definitely not "only foreigners care about that".

So the question posed in the OP is still valid. If it is not just a farang phobia.. why would a Thai business accept its own decline and ultimate failure while accepting a reputation with its Thai customers for being rat-infested?

Of course there is probably no hygiene inspector breaking down the door to slap a closure notice on the business. But in Thailand surely it is also a matter of "face". If you are known as a rat-infested business, will your next start-up business be expected to be squeaky clean? Or does anyone care?

[kannot]

I can put it down to stupidity/lazyness....recently went to Pattaya and was disgusted at the beach, it was alive with rats at 7pm

Seriously?

Then don't walk there.

They have been there for over 30 years.

You have a Thai wife and over 5,000 posts and a few rats bother you?

The drunks, hookers, smell of urine and fecal matter bother you also?

What's next too many Mosquitos?

Once again this is the "RAT THREAD" why dont you go open a fecal matter thread as it seems your good at talking it

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Far be it for me to give a history lesson here,but in Europe there are 2 types of rat.One is Rattus Rattus,the other

is Rattus Norwegacus(i think that's how you spell it)They are the black and the brown Rat.One of these delightful

creatures was responsible for the plague back in the 17th century due to the Buebon flea that bit the Rat,the rest is

history.Having refurbished many London hotels in the UK years ago,i actually met the Rat catcher for Lodnon.Every hotel has

a collection of tom cats that were not neutered soley for keeping the Rat population In control(this prompted the book and

further play 'Cats')After the cats were taken away,the Rat Catcher would come in and do his bit.As a kid,i swam in a river

near where i lived,never thinking of Weill's disease or being bitten.Any Rat is a bad rat.Here in North East they do eat

rat,but it is a different kind of rat.It is related to our verminous friends but it is far larger.The guys go out with long

barreled muskets and shoot the thing's.I tried it once,barbecued,and i have to say,although i wouldn't have it on a daily basis

it was not unpleasant,a tad oily but not bad all the same.I dont know if the rats here are the same as the European ones,but

i would guess they are close. Being English,i could not eat in anywhere where there were rat's.Their piss is a problem and

God knows what ever else kind of diseases they spread.As the OP said,this restaurant has now lost its last customer's.

I don't understand Thai business sense,they know we spend more than the average Thai on restaurant food but they do nothing

to try to understand our hygiene level's.Once again,thousand's of baht will have been thrown down the toilet to get this place running

and when they have to close due to lack of customer's,they wont understand why.

KKD

[keithathome]

KKDave is correct about the two types of rat, and it was the black rat (Norwegacus) that was responsible for the black death - bubonic plague. And it was the great fire of london that stopped it.

[kannot]

KKDave is correct about the two types of rat, and it was the black rat (Norwegacus) that was responsible for the black death - bubonic plague. And it was the great fire of london that stopped it.

I think they have disproved the rat theory I read it somewhere recently?

[tonray]

Ok Boys....when you have eradicated them all...start on the fleas............

[geronimo]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

This is exactly what I thought, but my wife is 100% Thai and she does get bugged by them.

This restaurant has a tick in every box, with food, price, location, passing trade and zero competition on that type of food.

Why is it empty? If not for the rats and I am talking about a plague here, probably more than 30 sightings last night alone.

This is in the area where I have lived for 6 years now, and I have not seen a rat in any other bar or restaurant, my garden, house or anywhere else for that matter.... Yet this place is bloody heaving with them.. It's as if the rats know they get protection in that place.

I guess some folks don't see something, even when it's in front of their nose!

[Straight8]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

yes see them laugh at Weils disease ahhahahahahaahhaah oh its so funny......... oh hhahahhahahaahahah

And what tiny percentage of people contract a disease nobody has ever heard of ? That's why they laugh...

That maybe so but have you ever laughed at something you had NFI about? I know I haven't.

Just wondering what part they actually find hilarious?

[tonray]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism....for crying out loud they kill everything but cows. It has to do with culture, only foreigners care about that...I have been at street side restaurants and watched silly Thai women laugh when a rat runs over the feet...in the west they would screech and make a scene...same for roaches...they don't get bugged like we do.

yes see them laugh at Weils disease ahhahahahahaahhaah oh its so funny......... oh hhahahhahahaahahah

And what tiny percentage of people contract a disease nobody has ever heard of ? That's why they laugh...

That maybe so but have you ever laughed at something you had NFI about? I know I haven't.

Just wondering what part they actually find hilarious?

I suggest a chill pill as you seemed stressed....and that is a laugh.

[lovelomsak]

The worst I have ever seen it for rats was in Bangkok in Soi Ngam Duphil I was at a hotel in the restaurant with a singer. Rats were running up and down the curtain behind the singer and all around her on the stage. The floor was so full of rats they would rub against me well running around. I left and when outside saw rats running around tail to nose inline all around on top the fences,all over the swimming pool furniture. literally every where. Thousands of them.They were even in the elevator. Years ago this hotel was the hotspot for entetainment. Long gone is its glory days.I cannot give the name of hotel I think against forum rules but can give phrase they had on a sign in front for years as a hint. "Day-off International Club- Paradise For Everyone-You'll Never Be Alone Again"

Never been back not even sure if still there.

[fey]

You can be sure that the problem is twice as bad in the areas and times you DON'T see. Like at night.
Chances are they are coming into contact with what your eating, utensils or...you get the idea.

You like to think the owners know the issue and are very careful with perishables and other stuff being left out and overnight, but often that's not the case.
Often they just don't mind or care, or not educated enough to know that's rats are unsanitary. Your risking disease eating in a place that has any trace of rats, or vermin around, especially if they are brave enough to come out during the daytime with people around.

Was in Vietnam and saw a dirty rat scurrying in the corner on the ceiling above where I was eating my soup.
Never went back even though the owners were very friendly. Still think about that rat occasionally years later and it makes me want to barf.

Saw rats crawling over the oranges at Khlong Toey Market in Bangkok also. Right up where people were passing. It just glared at me. It was ontop of a large orange pile, face height to people walking by. Bought oranges there before. I now wash everything carefully even when it has a skin. Owners and bystanders were to afraid of challenging the rat. It was huge. Sorry for the defamation, rat.

Edited January 23, 2016 by fey

[Dumbastheycome]

Every cloud has its silver lining......... Botox........ to keep your aging companion winkle active (oops ...wrinkle free ! ) is derived from bubonic plague toxin.

[Thongkorn]

Nothing wrong with rats, Except they wiped out half of England with Bubonic plague.

[tonray]

Nothing wrong with rats, Except they wiped out half of England with Bubonic plague.

Yes...and the House of Commons has wiped out the other half with taxes.....yet we still keep them around

[otherstuff1957]

Traps... poison... they just don't work. Or at least they don't work against Thai rats! The only solution to the rat problem is to have a cat or two, or maybe 3 for a busy restaurant!

We used to have a rat problem in our townhouse. We tried poison and traps, nothing worked. Then a friend gave us a furry, purring anti-rat device and the rat problem was solved. Three or four of our neighbors have also acquired cats & now the whole soi (it's short) seems to be rat-free.