Chelyabinsk Man Discovers Eight Rat Pups in Mercedes Engine

A resident of the «Manhattan» residential complex in central Chelyabinsk found eight dead rodents under the hood of his Mercedes in the yard. According to Roman, he has long noticed rats near the garbage bins by the house, but never expected that one would climb under his car and give birth there. What specialists and the management company«s leadership say about this city-wide problem — in the material from 74.RU.

Car Won«t Start

Roman lives in building No. 7 on Hero of Russia Yakovlev Street. He parked the car near the high-rise, but not close to the garbage area.

‘I start the car, it won«t start, so I opened the hood and found eight rat pups on the engine,’ he said. ‘We»ve hit rock bottom! Rats are giving birth in cars. It was disgusting to clean up. The car still didn«t start. Apparently, the birthing rat also chewed through the wires.’

According to Roman, he has seen rats near the house more than once.

‘City center, a premium residential complex, and there«s a ton of rats. They run mainly near the garbage containers,’ he added.

‘Specifics of the Residential Complex«s Location…’

The Topolinka group of companies, which services this building, informed 74.RU that they are aware of the problem.

‘We have received appeals from residents regarding sporadic cases of rodent detection on the premises,’ said Dmitry Danilov, manager of the Manhattan management company. ‘The specifics of the residential complex«s location entail an increased risk of rodent migration. Namely: the complex is located in close proximity to the river floodplain — a natural habitat for small animals. Adjacency to a construction site, where there was previously a wasteland with weeds — the former habitat of rodents. Earthworks have disrupted the animals» usual living places.’

The manager also spoke about the measures being taken to combat rodents.

‘Regular preventive treatments are carried out by specialized contractor organizations for sanitary maintenance of the territory,’ explained Dmitry Danilov. ‘Certified preparations safe for people and pets are used. Moreover, daily inspections of the premises are conducted, and if rodents are detected, local measures are implemented — placing rodenticides directly into burrows on the border with the construction site, near transformer substations.’

Rat Migration

Lately, more and more residents of Chelyabinsk in various districts of the city have been noticing rats. The day before, residents of the Leninsky district complained about an invasion of rodents that run through the entrance and climb into apartments. We asked specialists what this problem is related to.

‘Rats have come out of their burrows due to the frost, migration is occurring, so it seems there are many of them,’ explained veterinarian Karen Dallakyan. ‘Their burrows have cooled, and they come out from there, it«s already uncomfortable for them. This happens annually during heavy rains and frosts.’

Marina Utkina, deputy director for zoo-veterinary affairs at the Chelyabinsk Zoo, agreed with her colleague.

‘We have anomalous frosts for the Southern Urals. Most likely, the places where rats previously lived have frozen over or become colder than usual,’ said Marina Utkina. ‘Secondly, for a rat to move, there must be some food base, places where it can get food. In frosts, to warm themselves, they need more sustenance, so they«ve started coming out more often. Usually, they do this at night when there»s no traffic or large gatherings of people, but the weather has made its adjustments.’

Recall that two years ago, residents of houses on Teplotekh, as well as in the Lesoparkovy residential complex, faced a rat invasion.