[throwup238]

They’re fruit rats that like to live in trees so it’s pretty rare for them to make it inside the house - I’ve only had one rat make it into the walls in 20 years of living in a 100 year old house despite a dozen fruit trees surrounding the property. I’m in LA though so maybe the Bay Area winters drive them inside more often.

They absolutely ruin the harvest though. We manage to pick maybe a tenth of the pomelos and pomegranates that ripen before the rats get to them. I made a deal with one of my neighbors to tear down the fence and hedges separating our properties to prevent them from easily moving between trees on that side so at least the avocados are safe.

We’ve got rats in California but they’re a minor suburban nuisance, not a giant public health problem like in New York.

[lazide]

Literally had a dozen houses over the years with big problems in the Bay Area. Most people don’t notice until it gets really bad.

Or go into a crawl space or an attic - and then yikes.

LA does have a lot fewer of both of those though eh?