A common sight near trash cans, storm drains and city streets- rats are crawling around New Orleans.
"I've seen it first-hand especially closer to the river,” restaurant worker Heather Shenko said.
People like Shenko say they’re everywhere and it is something many have to deal with.
"It's hard with the older buildings because there's so many holes and the old piping,” she said.
It’s a problem that has now gone viral after cellphone video was posted to social media Sunday.
In the video, you can see several rodents getting an after-hour snack inside the French Market Restaurant and Bar, running over stools and plates in an area where oysters are served. Shenko says she knows people who have seen the same thing in other places.
"My boyfriend told me as he was walking home from work I'll peak into restaurants and they'll be sitting there eating and they're just there,” she said.
Pest control experts say rats in the French Quarter are unfortunately a common problem but add there are things people can do to help them from getting an infestation.
"It only takes about a size of a quarter for a rodent to get in,” Terminix Entomologist Joe Martin said.
Martin says crews are called out downtown daily.
“It's a really big thing in the Quarter is sanitation. There's garbage on the street you got the sewer system where they're coming from,” Martin said. “Rodents go where humans are.”
Which is why preventative measures are key, doing things like securing trash, covering holes and cleaning food can help keep them away.
“We'll never get rid of them but what we can do is keep them under control,” Martin said.
The video shows there is no doubt it isshocking, but some say it happens and shines light on a problem.
"It is a really big problem.”
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