# Squirrels vs. Rats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198 "2000-11-14T20:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/21 "2000-11-17T00:28:50Z")
I’m in northern Manhattan, and going by the behavior of the park rats, I’m not so sure rats care if we hate them. If I go down by the water in the park near my building, I have to keep an eye out for the little darlings, lest one scamper too close. (Let me point out here, I love animals, but rats just _get_ to me for some reason… I think it’s the tails… can’t deal with gerbils, either… but enough about me…) Seriously though, while the park rats I’ve seen don’t come begging the way park squirrels will, they’re not especially skittish. Also, I’m never in the park after dark so the only ones I see are probably just concentrating on catching a few z’s before sundown, when rat party time starts. p.s. to Slithy Tove & c-goat: When I was growing up in Newburgh, NY, not a rural area, I had a neighbor who claimed one squirrel made a nice-sized pot of pasta sauce for him and his wife. I don’t wanna know what those squirrels were living on before he offed 'em… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/22 "2000-11-17T01:10:04Z")
Hey, heres a question: If you eat a squirrel and it had rabies, could you contract it from the meat? ---
**Author:** ![IBBen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85f322/32.png) [@IBBen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBBen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/23 "2000-11-17T01:16:11Z")
Would the squirrel be alive or dead when you et im? ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/24 "2000-11-17T02:02:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alessan \* > \*\*I _like_ squirrels. \*\* Me too! Especially with a nice lemon sauce. Tastes like chicken! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/25 "2000-11-17T02:20:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Squirrels don’t cause any threats as far as I know. In addition to the diseases and the roof damage, squirrels are TERRIBLE about chewing phone lines. Right now, I’ve got real problems connecting to the internet/web because my phone lines have been chewed so badly. On the other hand, they do amuse and distract the dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/26 "2000-11-17T02:29:19Z")
Forgot to mention this site: [All squirrels must die!](http://www.deadsquirrel.com/) ---
**Author:** ![crckrrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7feea3/32.png) [@crckrrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crckrrick)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/27 "2000-11-17T06:32:30Z")
Squirrels do not carry rabies. My ex worked for The Department of Health, we got into a huge debate over this ( argument ) and to prove that squirrels DID carry rabies I went out and accosted approximately 3047 of them to the point of squirrel attack ( they really don’t bite that hard) and lo and behold, I did not catch rabies, so I had to eat crow ( which also does not carry rabies)… ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/28 "2000-11-17T11:27:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by crckrrick \* > **Squirrels do not carry rabies…** Tell that to the one that bit me and tested positive. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/29 "2000-11-17T12:11:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by crckrrick \* > \*\*Squirrels do not carry rabies. My ex worked for The Department of Health, we got into a huge debate over this ( argument ) and to prove that squirrels DID carry rabies I went out and accosted approximately 3047 of them to the point of squirrel attack ( they really don’t bite that hard) and lo and behold, I did not catch rabies, so I had to eat crow ( which also does not carry rabies)… \*\* Actually, squirrels _can_ carry rabies, but rarely do. Any mammal can. (IIRC, so can birds.) From the CDC’s FAQ about rabies: > [@](#): > > **Wild Animals > What animals get rabies?** > Any mammal can get rabies. The most common wild reservoirs of rabies are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, and coyotes. Domestic mammals can also get rabies. Cats, cattle, and dogs are the most frequently reported rabid domestic animals in the United States. > **What is the risk of rabies from squirrels, mice, rats, and other rodents?** > Small rodents (such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chipmunks, ) and lagomorphs (such as rabbits and hares) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States. Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in any unusual manner and rabies is widespread in your area. However, from 1985 through 1994, woodchucks accounted for 86% of the 368 cases of rabies among rodents reported to CDC. Woodchucks or groundhogs (Marmota monax) are the only rodents that may be frequently submitted to state health department because of a suspicion of rabies. In all cases involving rodents, the state or local health department should be consulted before a decision is made to initiate postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/30 "2000-11-17T12:17:13Z")
Ah, yes! Birds, being warm-blooded, can also have rabies. Again from the CDC website: [quote] Rabies virus causes an acute encephalitis in _all warm-blooded hosts_, including humans, and the outcome is almost always fatal. Although all species of mammals are susceptible to rabies virus infection, only a few species are important for as reservoirs for ng the disease in nature. In the United States, several distinct rabies virus variants have been identified in terrestrial mammals, including major terrestrial reservoirs in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes. In addition to the terrestrial reservoirs for rabies, several species of insectivorous bats also serve as reservoirs for the disease. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/31 "2000-11-17T13:27:41Z")
Rats and squirrels are both a pain in the ass, but at least you can make the neighborhood squirrels do stupid tricks for bits of cracker or nuts. The neat thing about squirrels (as they teach you in many survival courses) is they have a LOT of meat on’em for their size, and they’re easy to skin. You just slice the skin around each foreleg ‘wrist’, then slice from one wrist across the chest to the other. Grab the chest and _yank_. Off comes the skin! [hijak] I hate seagulls, they are EEE-villle. I swear they’re rats with wings. Imagine flying rats and there you go. [/hijak] punksnotdead, broccoli! ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198/32 "2000-11-17T14:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by crckrrick \* > \*\*Squirrels do not carry rabies. My ex worked for The Department of Health, we got into a huge debate over this ( argument ) and to prove that squirrels DID carry rabies I went out and accosted approximately 3047 of them to the point of squirrel attack ( they really don’t bite that hard) and lo and behold, I did not catch rabies, so I had to eat crow ( which also does not carry rabies)… \*\* You TRIED to get rabies! That’s a strange way to prove a point. Was it the ex’s idea or yours? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squirrels-vs-rats/41198.md?page=1)