TikTok Reveals Large Rats In This Popular Grocery Store Chain
Do you know what doesn't make a good advertisement for a store? Rats. Do you know what one Kroger apparently has? Rats.
More specifically, at least one location of the popular grocery chain has at least one rat, according to a TikTok video from December 22. In the video, we see someone holding a rubbish bin, trying to corner a rat scurrying over a display of turkeys. After a few seconds, the critter jumps out of the poultry bin to investigate other parts of the store. Over the scene, text reads "It's the big ass rats in Kroger tho!!" As of writing, the video has been watched 5.6 million times.
Some commenters had a sense of humor about the whole thing. "He's just doing his holiday shopping," one noted. Another asked "Are they vaccinated?"
Others took the situation more seriously. "Throw the whole store away," one demanded. "Health department need to come through," a second wrote. A third went even further: "I suspect this is far more common than any of us even imagining." People will probably still shop at Kroger, but it may take a while before they forget the image of rats scurrying amongst their groceries.
Is there a rat prooblem?
This recent TikTok video is simply the latest example of one of 2021's many concerns: rat panic.
Patch reported in November that rat sightings in New York City's Upper East Side surged this year by 55%. CBS Chicago noted a similar increase in October, with the city receiving the most rat complaints in its history. So, people are definitely more aware of rats.
Robert Corrigan, a "renowned urban rodentologist," explained to the BBC that the issue was the sudden disappearance of people littering. "When you have a colony of rats on a block that has been depending on tourists littering and lots of trash put out at night – it could be DC, it could be New York – anyplace where rats have been depending the easy handouts, and that disappears, then they don't know what to do," he said.
Faced with uncertainty, rats wander into new areas, like Kroger, to find food. There is a rat problem, then, in the sense that there is generally a problem with society still figuring out how to navigate the coronavirus pandemic. Prevention methods like food traps, cats, and improved hygiene can reduce the likelihood that rats will venture into your home. Kroger's issue, however, might require a more proactive approach.