Four Hong Kong pests that may terrify you this summer
As temperatures heat up, out of the woodwork comes horrors that lurk underground, in nooks and crannies, and, yes, even in your bed
The sweltering heat and smothering humidity in Hong Kong aren’t the only pesky things during summer. All manner of critters live in this urban jungle, and when conditions are ripe, they rear their ugly heads to terrorise the squeamish. But an inexplicable fear of creepy-crawlies aside, the city’s pests are not to be taken lightly: they are responsible for some of the darkest periods in Hong Kong’s history because of the diseases they spread.
City Weekend looks at four usual suspects.
Rats
They may be furry but they are no cuter than any of their other dubious companions on this list. In 1894, a mysterious pandemic, later known as the “great plague of Hong Kong”, festered in the then British colony. It claimed tens of thousands of lives and caused widespread suffering and social unrest, before spreading overseas and ballooning into a global pandemic. The disease was later found to be spread by fleas from rodents.
There are two main breeds of rats in Hong Kong. The more commonly encountered sewer rat is the larger species, also known as the brown rat, Norway rat or Rattus norvegicus – which is responsible for the plague more than 100 years ago.
Another breed more common in rural areas is the smaller, black roof rat, or Rattus rattus. The rodent can also cause rat-bite fever and spotted fever, among other diseases.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department conducts regular Rodent Infestation Rate surveys across the city. These surveys involve laying bait over an area and then recording the percentage that has been consumed by rats.
Any areas registering bait consumption at 10 per cent or above are considered to have a rat problem.
In 2017, Hong Kong’s overall annual Rodent Infestation Rate was 3.5 per cent, down from 4 per cent the previous year. The most seriously affected areas were Mong Kok and Eastern district, with the rates hovering at about 6 to 7 per cent in the past three years.
