First It Was Copperheads, Now a Hudson Valley Rat Infestation?

Cicadas. Looks like they’re arriving, and according to some sources when the cicadas arrive, so do animals that love to eat them. Like copperhead snakes. And if copperheads aren’t enough to scare you, how about rats? That’s right, I said rats.

Just as I was getting over the whole ‘copperheads are going to invade us’ thing, I’m back on Facebook and I see a post about rats invading because rats love cicadas, and cicadas are coming out of the ground, therefore we will be seeing more rats. Okay, rats are gross. Copperheads may be deadly, cicadas are loud and kind of annoying, but rats are just plain gross. Dirty little creatures that drag pizza slices through the subways. Some grow to be as big as your head. Ugh, I really hate rats.

So, once again I took to the internet to find out if I have to start looking where I’m walking because the last thing I want to do is step on a rat. According to phys.org, rats could indeed be a problem. Well, that's bad news. But there is some good news, too. It doesn’t seem that rats will be a problem here in the Hudson Valley. While we are getting cicadas, it doesn’t appear that we’ll be getting the Brood X cicadas, which are apparently quite appetizing to both copperheads and rats.

It looks as though we’re safe from both copperheads and rats for now, but I’m pretty sure that before too long I’ll be looking at Facebook and I'll find another invasion to freak out about. In the meantime, watch out for ticks because they are a true Hudson Valley danger.