气候变暖与城市生活方式如何助长国外鼠患围城
正文翻译
One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds.Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats.
去年某个清晨，约翰·格拉德温（John Gladwin）打开厨房水槽下方的橱柜，发现他存放在那里的装土壤的袋子被撕得粉碎。
几天后，他又闻到一股刺鼻的气味——那是一种霉味，略带涩感，很像他所住公寓楼公共垃圾区的味道。
"I knew what it was straight away," he says. "Rats."
He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too.
"I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing."
“我立刻就知道是怎么回事了，”他说，“是老鼠。”
他经常看到老鼠在垃圾桶附近窜来窜去。现在，它们也进了他的家。
“我在橱柜里、浴缸挡板后面都能听到它们的声音。有一天早上醒来，它们甚至在浴缸底下打架，发出尖叫声和吱吱声。”
Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food
约翰·格拉德温居住的克罗伊登（Croydon）小区鼠患严重——一只胆大的老鼠曾跳进垃圾袋，拖出一大块食物
Mr Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything."
格拉德温先生与五个孩子住在克罗伊登。发现问题后，他立即采取行动：撒上薄荷油、投放鼠药。到目前为止，老鼠还没再回来。但这次经历让他深受震动。“我很担心孩子们的健康，不想让他们染上什么病。”
There was another feeling too: shame.
"It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property."
他还有另外一种情绪，那就是羞耻。“说我们家里闹鼠灾、一家人住在老鼠横行的房子里，实在不是件体面的事。”
Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Mr Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years.
负责处理格拉德温所在小区鼠患问题的害虫防治公司 Cleankill 业务遍及英格兰南部。其创始人克莱夫·伯里（Clive Bury）表示，他注意到鼠患求助电话“显著”增加，估计过去两年增长了20%。
Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years.
类似的趋势在全英国范围内都在上演。英国害虫防治协会（BPCA）这一行业组织称，其超过半数的会员公司在过去五年中都报告了老鼠求助数量的上升。
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million.
老鼠生活在下水道、污水管和地洞中，主要在夜间活动，因此几乎无法准确统计其数量。英国的老鼠总数估计在1,000万到1.2亿之间。
What is known is that more than half a million rodent infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by repair company, Drain Detectives.
但有一点是确定的：根据维修公司Drain Detectives通过《信息自由法》请求所收集的数据，2023年至今年年中，英国各地市政部门收到的鼠患报告已超过50万起。
But it's not just affecting the UK.Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto.
而且这不仅限于英国。据报道，美国多个城市的老鼠数量也在激增，包括华盛顿特区、旧金山和纽约市，以及阿姆斯特丹和多伦多等地也是如此。
Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies.
尽管老鼠本身并非天生肮脏，但它们会在下水道和垃圾桶中觅食，并可能将严重疾病传染给人类。例如，钩端螺旋体病（又称威尔氏病）通过其尿液传播；汉坦病毒则可通过吸入受污染的粪便粉尘而感染。此外，它们还会啃食农田作物，污染食品供应链。
So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities?
既然老鼠如此狡猾，善于躲避捕杀——那么，我们究竟需要做些什么才能真正遏制它们？还是说，我们已经积重难返，注定要被老鼠占领城市？
EXPANING：Rising temperatures, rising rat activity
Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
扩展阅读：气温升高，鼠患加剧
鲍比·科里根（Bobby Corrigan）自称是一名“城市啮齿动物学家”。他最初是纽约市的一名灭鼠员，一生都与老鼠打交道。
"I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats."
“我曾经钻进下水道，试图挂上毒饵来杀死老鼠。”
Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.
多年后，在大学研究老鼠期间，他曾不惜一切代价观察它们的行为——有一次，他甚至睡在满是老鼠的谷仓地板上，以便亲身体验。
What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers.
令他震惊的是老鼠复杂的社会结构，以及表现出利他行为的证据。“我看到幼鼠叼着食物，喂给那些行动不便的老鼠，”他回忆道。
He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise.The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise
他也决心弄清老鼠数量上升的原因。克罗伊登这栋公寓楼里的老鼠数量正在增加。
There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute.
造成这一现象的原因有很多。BPCA的技术经理尼尔·加拉格尔（Niall Gallagher）表示，人们越来越爱吃快餐、一些地方市政垃圾清运频率降低，以及道路和建筑施工扰动了下水道系统，都是促成因素。
But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play.
但有证据表明，气温升高也可能在其中发挥作用。
Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases.
科学研究发现，老鼠种群对温度非常敏感。此前曾在纽约市卫生局担任研究科学家的科里根博士，与弗吉尼亚州里士满大学（University of Richmond）的研究人员合作，试图探究鼠患活动是否与气温升高相关。
Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years.
他们的研究调查了16座城市（主要位于北美），结果今年早些时候发表在《科学进展》（Science Advances）期刊上。研究发现，在7至17年的时间跨度内，其中11座城市的老鼠活动显著增加。
Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand
鲍比·科里根博士曾睡在鼠患严重的谷仓地板上，以便亲身观察老鼠的行为模式。
In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans.
华盛顿特区的增长接近400%，旧金山为300%，多伦多180%，纽约160%。只有三座城市出现下降，包括东京和新奥尔良。
One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds.Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats.
去年某个清晨，约翰·格拉德温（John Gladwin）打开厨房水槽下方的橱柜，发现他存放在那里的装土壤的袋子被撕得粉碎。
几天后，他又闻到一股刺鼻的气味——那是一种霉味，略带涩感，很像他所住公寓楼公共垃圾区的味道。
"I knew what it was straight away," he says. "Rats."
He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too.
"I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing."
“我立刻就知道是怎么回事了，”他说，“是老鼠。”
他经常看到老鼠在垃圾桶附近窜来窜去。现在，它们也进了他的家。
“我在橱柜里、浴缸挡板后面都能听到它们的声音。有一天早上醒来，它们甚至在浴缸底下打架，发出尖叫声和吱吱声。”
Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food
约翰·格拉德温居住的克罗伊登（Croydon）小区鼠患严重——一只胆大的老鼠曾跳进垃圾袋，拖出一大块食物
Mr Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything."
格拉德温先生与五个孩子住在克罗伊登。发现问题后，他立即采取行动：撒上薄荷油、投放鼠药。到目前为止，老鼠还没再回来。但这次经历让他深受震动。“我很担心孩子们的健康，不想让他们染上什么病。”
There was another feeling too: shame.
"It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property."
他还有另外一种情绪，那就是羞耻。“说我们家里闹鼠灾、一家人住在老鼠横行的房子里，实在不是件体面的事。”
Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Mr Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years.
负责处理格拉德温所在小区鼠患问题的害虫防治公司 Cleankill 业务遍及英格兰南部。其创始人克莱夫·伯里（Clive Bury）表示，他注意到鼠患求助电话“显著”增加，估计过去两年增长了20%。
Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years.
类似的趋势在全英国范围内都在上演。英国害虫防治协会（BPCA）这一行业组织称，其超过半数的会员公司在过去五年中都报告了老鼠求助数量的上升。
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million.
老鼠生活在下水道、污水管和地洞中，主要在夜间活动，因此几乎无法准确统计其数量。英国的老鼠总数估计在1,000万到1.2亿之间。
What is known is that more than half a million rodent infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by repair company, Drain Detectives.
但有一点是确定的：根据维修公司Drain Detectives通过《信息自由法》请求所收集的数据，2023年至今年年中，英国各地市政部门收到的鼠患报告已超过50万起。
But it's not just affecting the UK.Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto.
而且这不仅限于英国。据报道，美国多个城市的老鼠数量也在激增，包括华盛顿特区、旧金山和纽约市，以及阿姆斯特丹和多伦多等地也是如此。
Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies.
尽管老鼠本身并非天生肮脏，但它们会在下水道和垃圾桶中觅食，并可能将严重疾病传染给人类。例如，钩端螺旋体病（又称威尔氏病）通过其尿液传播；汉坦病毒则可通过吸入受污染的粪便粉尘而感染。此外，它们还会啃食农田作物，污染食品供应链。
So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities?
既然老鼠如此狡猾，善于躲避捕杀——那么，我们究竟需要做些什么才能真正遏制它们？还是说，我们已经积重难返，注定要被老鼠占领城市？
EXPANING：Rising temperatures, rising rat activity
Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
扩展阅读：气温升高，鼠患加剧
鲍比·科里根（Bobby Corrigan）自称是一名“城市啮齿动物学家”。他最初是纽约市的一名灭鼠员，一生都与老鼠打交道。
"I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats."
“我曾经钻进下水道，试图挂上毒饵来杀死老鼠。”
Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.
多年后，在大学研究老鼠期间，他曾不惜一切代价观察它们的行为——有一次，他甚至睡在满是老鼠的谷仓地板上，以便亲身体验。
What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers.
令他震惊的是老鼠复杂的社会结构，以及表现出利他行为的证据。“我看到幼鼠叼着食物，喂给那些行动不便的老鼠，”他回忆道。
He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise.The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise
他也决心弄清老鼠数量上升的原因。克罗伊登这栋公寓楼里的老鼠数量正在增加。
There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute.
造成这一现象的原因有很多。BPCA的技术经理尼尔·加拉格尔（Niall Gallagher）表示，人们越来越爱吃快餐、一些地方市政垃圾清运频率降低，以及道路和建筑施工扰动了下水道系统，都是促成因素。
But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play.
但有证据表明，气温升高也可能在其中发挥作用。
Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases.
科学研究发现，老鼠种群对温度非常敏感。此前曾在纽约市卫生局担任研究科学家的科里根博士，与弗吉尼亚州里士满大学（University of Richmond）的研究人员合作，试图探究鼠患活动是否与气温升高相关。
Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years.
他们的研究调查了16座城市（主要位于北美），结果今年早些时候发表在《科学进展》（Science Advances）期刊上。研究发现，在7至17年的时间跨度内，其中11座城市的老鼠活动显著增加。
Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand鲍比·科里根博士曾睡在鼠患严重的谷仓地板上，以便亲身观察老鼠的行为模式。
In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans.
华盛顿特区的增长接近400%，旧金山为300%，多伦多180%，纽约160%。只有三座城市出现下降，包括东京和新奥尔良。
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One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds.Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats.
去年某个清晨，约翰·格拉德温（John Gladwin）打开厨房水槽下方的橱柜，发现他存放在那里的装土壤的袋子被撕得粉碎。
几天后，他又闻到一股刺鼻的气味——那是一种霉味，略带涩感，很像他所住公寓楼公共垃圾区的味道。
"I knew what it was straight away," he says. "Rats."
He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too.
"I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing."
“我立刻就知道是怎么回事了，”他说，“是老鼠。”
他经常看到老鼠在垃圾桶附近窜来窜去。现在，它们也进了他的家。
“我在橱柜里、浴缸挡板后面都能听到它们的声音。有一天早上醒来，它们甚至在浴缸底下打架，发出尖叫声和吱吱声。”
Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food
约翰·格拉德温居住的克罗伊登（Croydon）小区鼠患严重——一只胆大的老鼠曾跳进垃圾袋，拖出一大块食物
Mr Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything."
格拉德温先生与五个孩子住在克罗伊登。发现问题后，他立即采取行动：撒上薄荷油、投放鼠药。到目前为止，老鼠还没再回来。但这次经历让他深受震动。“我很担心孩子们的健康，不想让他们染上什么病。”
There was another feeling too: shame.
"It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property."
他还有另外一种情绪，那就是羞耻。“说我们家里闹鼠灾、一家人住在老鼠横行的房子里，实在不是件体面的事。”
Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Mr Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years.
负责处理格拉德温所在小区鼠患问题的害虫防治公司 Cleankill 业务遍及英格兰南部。其创始人克莱夫·伯里（Clive Bury）表示，他注意到鼠患求助电话“显著”增加，估计过去两年增长了20%。
Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years.
类似的趋势在全英国范围内都在上演。英国害虫防治协会（BPCA）这一行业组织称，其超过半数的会员公司在过去五年中都报告了老鼠求助数量的上升。
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million.
老鼠生活在下水道、污水管和地洞中，主要在夜间活动，因此几乎无法准确统计其数量。英国的老鼠总数估计在1,000万到1.2亿之间。
What is known is that more than half a million rodent infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by repair company, Drain Detectives.
但有一点是确定的：根据维修公司Drain Detectives通过《信息自由法》请求所收集的数据，2023年至今年年中，英国各地市政部门收到的鼠患报告已超过50万起。
But it's not just affecting the UK.Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto.
而且这不仅限于英国。据报道，美国多个城市的老鼠数量也在激增，包括华盛顿特区、旧金山和纽约市，以及阿姆斯特丹和多伦多等地也是如此。
Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies.
尽管老鼠本身并非天生肮脏，但它们会在下水道和垃圾桶中觅食，并可能将严重疾病传染给人类。例如，钩端螺旋体病（又称威尔氏病）通过其尿液传播；汉坦病毒则可通过吸入受污染的粪便粉尘而感染。此外，它们还会啃食农田作物，污染食品供应链。
So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities?
既然老鼠如此狡猾，善于躲避捕杀——那么，我们究竟需要做些什么才能真正遏制它们？还是说，我们已经积重难返，注定要被老鼠占领城市？
EXPANING：Rising temperatures, rising rat activity
Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
扩展阅读：气温升高，鼠患加剧
鲍比·科里根（Bobby Corrigan）自称是一名“城市啮齿动物学家”。他最初是纽约市的一名灭鼠员，一生都与老鼠打交道。
"I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats."
“我曾经钻进下水道，试图挂上毒饵来杀死老鼠。”
Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.
多年后，在大学研究老鼠期间，他曾不惜一切代价观察它们的行为——有一次，他甚至睡在满是老鼠的谷仓地板上，以便亲身体验。
What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers.
令他震惊的是老鼠复杂的社会结构，以及表现出利他行为的证据。“我看到幼鼠叼着食物，喂给那些行动不便的老鼠，”他回忆道。
He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise.The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise
他也决心弄清老鼠数量上升的原因。克罗伊登这栋公寓楼里的老鼠数量正在增加。
There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute.
造成这一现象的原因有很多。BPCA的技术经理尼尔·加拉格尔（Niall Gallagher）表示，人们越来越爱吃快餐、一些地方市政垃圾清运频率降低，以及道路和建筑施工扰动了下水道系统，都是促成因素。
But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play.
但有证据表明，气温升高也可能在其中发挥作用。
Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases.
科学研究发现，老鼠种群对温度非常敏感。此前曾在纽约市卫生局担任研究科学家的科里根博士，与弗吉尼亚州里士满大学（University of Richmond）的研究人员合作，试图探究鼠患活动是否与气温升高相关。
Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years.
他们的研究调查了16座城市（主要位于北美），结果今年早些时候发表在《科学进展》（Science Advances）期刊上。研究发现，在7至17年的时间跨度内，其中11座城市的老鼠活动显著增加。
Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand
鲍比·科里根博士曾睡在鼠患严重的谷仓地板上，以便亲身观察老鼠的行为模式。
In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans.
华盛顿特区的增长接近400%，旧金山为300%，多伦多180%，纽约160%。只有三座城市出现下降，包括东京和新奥尔良。
One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds.Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats.
去年某个清晨，约翰·格拉德温（John Gladwin）打开厨房水槽下方的橱柜，发现他存放在那里的装土壤的袋子被撕得粉碎。
几天后，他又闻到一股刺鼻的气味——那是一种霉味，略带涩感，很像他所住公寓楼公共垃圾区的味道。
"I knew what it was straight away," he says. "Rats."
He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too.
"I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing."
“我立刻就知道是怎么回事了，”他说，“是老鼠。”
他经常看到老鼠在垃圾桶附近窜来窜去。现在，它们也进了他的家。
“我在橱柜里、浴缸挡板后面都能听到它们的声音。有一天早上醒来，它们甚至在浴缸底下打架，发出尖叫声和吱吱声。”
Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food
约翰·格拉德温居住的克罗伊登（Croydon）小区鼠患严重——一只胆大的老鼠曾跳进垃圾袋，拖出一大块食物
Mr Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything."
格拉德温先生与五个孩子住在克罗伊登。发现问题后，他立即采取行动：撒上薄荷油、投放鼠药。到目前为止，老鼠还没再回来。但这次经历让他深受震动。“我很担心孩子们的健康，不想让他们染上什么病。”
There was another feeling too: shame.
"It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property."
他还有另外一种情绪，那就是羞耻。“说我们家里闹鼠灾、一家人住在老鼠横行的房子里，实在不是件体面的事。”
Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Mr Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years.
负责处理格拉德温所在小区鼠患问题的害虫防治公司 Cleankill 业务遍及英格兰南部。其创始人克莱夫·伯里（Clive Bury）表示，他注意到鼠患求助电话“显著”增加，估计过去两年增长了20%。
Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years.
类似的趋势在全英国范围内都在上演。英国害虫防治协会（BPCA）这一行业组织称，其超过半数的会员公司在过去五年中都报告了老鼠求助数量的上升。
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million.
老鼠生活在下水道、污水管和地洞中，主要在夜间活动，因此几乎无法准确统计其数量。英国的老鼠总数估计在1,000万到1.2亿之间。
What is known is that more than half a million rodent infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by repair company, Drain Detectives.
但有一点是确定的：根据维修公司Drain Detectives通过《信息自由法》请求所收集的数据，2023年至今年年中，英国各地市政部门收到的鼠患报告已超过50万起。
But it's not just affecting the UK.Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto.
而且这不仅限于英国。据报道，美国多个城市的老鼠数量也在激增，包括华盛顿特区、旧金山和纽约市，以及阿姆斯特丹和多伦多等地也是如此。
Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies.
尽管老鼠本身并非天生肮脏，但它们会在下水道和垃圾桶中觅食，并可能将严重疾病传染给人类。例如，钩端螺旋体病（又称威尔氏病）通过其尿液传播；汉坦病毒则可通过吸入受污染的粪便粉尘而感染。此外，它们还会啃食农田作物，污染食品供应链。
So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities?
既然老鼠如此狡猾，善于躲避捕杀——那么，我们究竟需要做些什么才能真正遏制它们？还是说，我们已经积重难返，注定要被老鼠占领城市？
EXPANING：Rising temperatures, rising rat activity
Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats.
扩展阅读：气温升高，鼠患加剧
鲍比·科里根（Bobby Corrigan）自称是一名“城市啮齿动物学家”。他最初是纽约市的一名灭鼠员，一生都与老鼠打交道。
"I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats."
“我曾经钻进下水道，试图挂上毒饵来杀死老鼠。”
Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand.
多年后，在大学研究老鼠期间，他曾不惜一切代价观察它们的行为——有一次，他甚至睡在满是老鼠的谷仓地板上，以便亲身体验。
What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers.
令他震惊的是老鼠复杂的社会结构，以及表现出利他行为的证据。“我看到幼鼠叼着食物，喂给那些行动不便的老鼠，”他回忆道。
He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise.The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise
他也决心弄清老鼠数量上升的原因。克罗伊登这栋公寓楼里的老鼠数量正在增加。
There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute.
造成这一现象的原因有很多。BPCA的技术经理尼尔·加拉格尔（Niall Gallagher）表示，人们越来越爱吃快餐、一些地方市政垃圾清运频率降低，以及道路和建筑施工扰动了下水道系统，都是促成因素。
But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play.
但有证据表明，气温升高也可能在其中发挥作用。
Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases.
科学研究发现，老鼠种群对温度非常敏感。此前曾在纽约市卫生局担任研究科学家的科里根博士，与弗吉尼亚州里士满大学（University of Richmond）的研究人员合作，试图探究鼠患活动是否与气温升高相关。
Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years.
他们的研究调查了16座城市（主要位于北美），结果今年早些时候发表在《科学进展》（Science Advances）期刊上。研究发现，在7至17年的时间跨度内，其中11座城市的老鼠活动显著增加。
Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand鲍比·科里根博士曾睡在鼠患严重的谷仓地板上，以便亲身观察老鼠的行为模式。
In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans.
华盛顿特区的增长接近400%，旧金山为300%，多伦多180%，纽约160%。只有三座城市出现下降，包括东京和新奥尔良。
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