NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — In what may be the ultimate sign of the city coming back to life, complaints are way up about rats and other vermin.
Just like humans, rats are slowly starting to come out from hiding and back into city living.
There were just under 3,000 complaints called into 311 last month about rats and other pests, according to Bloomberg. That's an 80 percent increase from March 2020, when most people were inside.
This year's numbers even outpace 2019 by several hundred complaints.
Pest control experts say rats' lives were upended, with usual food sources outside offices and restaurants suddenly disappearing.
Instead they ventured out to parks and residential areas. Outdoor dining setups throughout the city may also be a pest paradise and Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised to reverse previous cuts in trash pickups.
Exterminator Jim McHale Jr. somewhat ominously tells the New York Post there's a new normal for rats now that they've adjusted their habits, but the long-term impact on rat behavior still to be determined.
More surprises could await workers returning to offices that have been empty for the last year.
A pest control company in London reports office rat infestations at biblical levels.