Why is it considered so dangerous?

[Anonymous]

To have rats in the house

[MrOracle]

Rats have always carried diseases, but the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, was effectively spread by rats, who would bring infected fleas into homes, where they would get into bedding, bite the humans, and infect them with the plague. This would lead to big swollen black lumps growing at your lymph nodes (under your arms and in your crotch), which would burst and kill you. This killed roughly 1/3 of Europeans in a 2 year period in the late 1660s. Compare to COVID, which killed about 1%. The plague was 33 times as deadly.

That was more than enough to instill an institutional fear of rats in the surviving population, and since most of the population of the US originated from post-Plague Europe, it's no surprise that we share this fear.

[Asker]

are they now also as dangeorus

[MrOracle]

Well, today we have antibiotics and other treatments, which is why we rarely have disease-related problems with rats (in fact, we DO have them occasionally, but with treatment, it's usually just a minor inconvenience). Still, rats still carry fleas, and can still spread fleas infected with a variety of diseases, so, we still generally try to keep them out of our houses, restaurants, etc.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

The first and foremost reason I see is probably History. Black Death terrorized, for a reason, countless nations. This fear has been transferred from generations to generations, I suppose?

Aside from that, here is a rat ?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Rats and their fleas can carry diseases, not to mention the damage they do to your pantry and appliances when making a home for themselves in your walls.

[Apple1996]

Because rats are nasty

[Anonymous]

Do you means rats pets? Or rats just running freely throughout the house. If they’re running freely they can create structural damage. They could chew through your electrical wiring. Contaminate food. They could pose a hazard to you as well as your animals through contact from their droppings or urine. Main thing that comes to mind is hantavirus, but there are also other diseases that they carry. Some people may be allergic to them. There’s also a chance of being bitten by one. Plus people, especially women just get freaked out by rats so mentally that may not be a good thing. Going to bed at night then you hear some scratching on the walls lol

[ManOnFire]

You didn't know that rats can even feast on human flesh? Plus they can carry disease. They eat through anything and everything. Hell yes they are dangerous.

[NathanDavis]

do you mean as pets?

or do you mean as a pest?

pets or pest... big time difference

[RavVid]

At minimum they will gnaw electric wiring and there is a good reason for it being insulated.

Disease is another - like the back death.

[Phoenix98]

They are carriers of disease for one they played a pretty big part in how fast the black death spread throughout Europe.

[ChicoFromThe305]

They are pests, they have many germs and diseases which can be transferred in many ways.

[Staximus]

Because it shit piss everywhere and spread bacteria and diseases like the plague from their fleas

[Slim57]

They carry disease, they bite, they poop everywhere, they destroy wires and furniture, you don't ever want them in your house

[exitseven]

rats carry diseases and they bite.

[butterly248]

They carry disease and leave droppings everywhere

[Anonymous]

That sounds racist against rats.

[Slim57]

It is

[DaBiggestBird]

They’ll also steal your food

[Jmmmfi4]

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE BUBONIC PLAUGE

[slatyb]

They spread disease.

[Anonymous]

They carry diseases

[pacifix]

They carry disease