rats in the palisades--DISGUSTING! (Los Angeles, Calabasas: apartment complexes, neighborhoods, construction)

[katenik]

Had Denham been given more than the time of day that night, he would have told them a tale beyond belief about one of the richest enclaves in the United States. His sweet old neighbor ladies, identical twins, had spent years fanatically feeding the Palisades’ rat population. Although the full dimensions of the environmental and health damage done by the peculiar pair are unknown, experts contacted by L.A. Weekly estimate that the ladies’ actions may have added tens of thousands, even 500,000, new rats to L.A.’s Westside.

LA Weekly - News - Palisades Rathouse: Unchallenged by Health Officials, Elderly Twins Fed Local Vermin Population - Max Taves - The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles

[bettedaviseyes]

That's gross. I was surprised that there are so many rats running around the shopping area in Calabasas, too. They hide in the bushes but pop their heads out once in a while - I bet they really freak out the tourists!!

[bhcompy]

hills + bushes = wildlife

biggest problem in some of the richest enclaves in orange county(newport coast, bluffs, etc) are rats and other rodents

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by bettedaviseyes

That's gross. I was surprised that there are so many rats running around the shopping area in Calabasas, too. They hide in the bushes but pop their heads out once in a while - I bet they really freak out the tourists!!

Ive never seen any rats there. Im actually glad that I havent. We go there all the time and I havent seen a single rat.

[katenik]

in all my life, i've seen only two rats in LA. one was dead on the sidewalk next to a construction site downtown. the other was perched on an exposed wood beam in the ceiling of a thai restaurant on cahuenga (or maybe ventura). my friends who live in the hills report seeing them occasionally, but they call an exterminator when that occurs. they don't set the table and invite them in for dinner like those two lunatic sisters in the article. the thing i found most shocking about this story (well, besides the thousands of rats they allowed to breed over the years) is that the city fined them only $285. i would have red-tagged the house, and taken a flamethrower to it.

[bettedaviseyes]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

Ive never seen any rats there. Im actually glad that I havent. We go there all the time and I havent seen a single rat.

They are definitely there, my husband and I would see them scurrying around in the bushes by the sidewalks all the time. We would walk around that shopping area a lot at night, so you had to really look to see them. They never scared us, though - like the previous poster said, they are a part of the natural wildlife in that area. I don't think they are the typical "dirty" rats like you would find in NYC. I have heard that some apartment complexes in Calabasas have rats on the premises, too (not IN the apartments - outside of them) due to all of the bushes and hills nearby. I don't like the rats, but I am thankful that L.A. still has some natural areas with wildlife!

This isn't to scare anyone away from the shopping center in Calabasas - we loved going there and can't wait to get back there soon, rats and all!

[msnorman67]

I'm glad we have the more upscale "clean" LA rats here. Never underestimate the importance of hygiene. The NewYork rats just don't take good care of themselves. Until they start stealing from me or attacking me I'm down with the rats. WWJD.

[Jaymum]

Originally Posted by msnorman67

I'm glad we have the more upscale "clean" LA rats here. Never underestimate the importance of hygiene. The NewYork rats just don't take good care of themselves. Until they start stealing from me or attacking me I'm down with the rats. WWJD.

Ah-ah don't start now! If NYC is not allowed to have gangs or pollution on the level of LA, then LA is not allowed to have the kind of rats that NYC prides themselves with!

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by Jaymum

Ah-ah don't start now! If NYC is not allowed to have gangs or pollution on the level of LA, then LA is not allowed to have the kind of rats that NYC prides themselves with!

in all seriousness, gangs and pollution are still pretty horrendous in many areas of nyc and its metro area. you just don't see them as much in the yuppie areas of manhattan or brooklyn, but as a whole nyc is a much dirtier city than la, despite having cleaned itself up compared to the bad old days of the '70s, '80s, and early '90s. and yes, rats (and roaches) are a BIG problem in nyc proper, even in some of the more expensive neighborhoods. for instance, it's well-known that central park, union square park, and madison square park (all nicely manicured parks frequented by yuppies and tourists) are filled with rats that come out at night - dirty "city" rats, as you'd call them. it's incredibly disgusting. that's why i have to laugh a little when angelinos complain how dirty or vermin-infested LA is, b/c it can't compare with nyc in that regard. i'm not minimizing what angelinos have to deal with, b/c it's nasty no matter what, but i'm just saying that it could be a lot worse.

when my parents finally moved out of the city to the suburbs, we were so thankful that we didn't have to deal with vermin anymore. seriously, they're a reality of everyday life for a very large chunk of new yorkers.

[bettedaviseyes]

Originally Posted by msnorman67

I'm glad we have the more upscale "clean" LA rats here. Never underestimate the importance of hygiene. The NewYork rats just don't take good care of themselves. Until they start stealing from me or attacking me I'm down with the rats. WWJD.

This is actually pretty funny - it gave me a good laugh!

It may just be me, but I somehow feel better about rats that are living out in nature, as opposed to nasty city sewers. I suppose rats are rats, though.