Do rats really run over supermarket trolleys?

[jennymanara]

I often read this on here, usually in answer to someone claiming kids standing in trolleys is unhygienic.
But do rats really run over supermarket trolleys? In most supermarkets they are kept in a separate covered shelter. There is no food there. So why would rats be attracted to them anyway? And surely supermarkets will be doing everything they can to stop rats running around just outside their supermarket?

[LoafofSellotape]

Rats go where food is,yes it's a possibility but they're more likely to be in the supermarket 😂

[Sirzy]

There’s only so much that can be done to keep them away though.

Although it’s not a given they will it’s certainly not a given they won’t either!

[MyNameIsCharlesII]

Rats are probably running over all sorts of things during the night but I doubt anyone ever died as a result of a rat being in a supermarket trolley.

Having worked in a supermarket yes there are rats about in the yard so possibly in the car park and trolley bays too but as you say I don’t think they’re that interested in empty trollies.

[SingingLily]

I would imagine the trolleys smell faintly of food and any spillages if they are not cleaned properly and regularly.

A friend of mine works in public health and shudders when she sees people drinking directly from bottles or tins because the risk of contamination by rat urine is very real.

[RomanyQueen]

Foxes too and any other wildlife it's a playground for them.
You are more likely to get them at the back where there are deliveries, but they will go where they aren't disturbed to nest.

[Hmmmbop]

They put rat traps and bate boxes outside supermarket's but they don't prevent them running around. Trolleys probably smell of food, and you often see banana skins and crisp wrappers in them.

Having worked in a supermarket I really don't think it's far fetched to think mice and rats run over the trolleys, though I've not seen any on a trolley.

Whilst we're at supermarket cleanliness, those plastic boxes the fruit and veg are held in aren't washed.

[azulmariposa]

Never mind the rats, what about all the disgusting people that have been pushing the trolley after not washing their hands after going to the loo.
Makes me feel ill seeing the people in public loos that go and come out without washing hands. Yuck 🤢

[Iamtheworst]

I love when people get panicked about leaving the food on the kitchen floor while unpacking it. As if some it has been sterile up until this point. Supermarket warehouses are minging. The food it’sself will be fine but the pallets, shelves, boxes etc are disgusting. A small child’s shoes it adding nothing to that show

[jennymanara]

Yes I am sure there are rats around the warehouses, and it does not surprise me that rats are more likely to be in the supermarkets. Rats will go where food is. So I would expect rats to be in and out of bins in the car park as well. But not actually in the trolleys, or rarely.
I am well aware that food will have been kept on dirty pallets rather than some kind of sterile environment.

[BethMaddison]

We always antibacterial the trolley before putting dc in the seat I use clorox wipes

[Soola]

They did a deal at my local supermarket. The rats are allowed to rummage in the trolleys providing they straighten all the ones that have wonky wheels.

[CallMeRachel]

Yes, it would appear rats run over everything around supermarkets.
Link to story here regarding a Supermarket worker who claims to have almost died after coming into contact with rat urine at work. The report shows rats on an empty cage trolley.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/5804579/tesco-worker-almost-dies-after-rat-urine-drips-on-his-face-at-supermarket-depot-and-he-contracts-deadly-weils-disease/amp/

[Soola]

Rats are everywhere.

There are some huge ones on the London Underground.

I’ve seen some that were easily the size of a cat.

[jennymanara]

A cage trolley though is used to transport food from the storage bit to the shelves. There is far more chance of rats being there, there will be rats in the warehouse.

I suspect though kids in trolleys are at more risk, than humans are from kids in trolleys.

soola Clever rats

[Chottie]

Well, if they do, I'm not going to worry about it.

I've shopped regularly in supermarkets for over 40 years and I have never contracted a rat based disease.

[groundcontroltomontydon]

Soola
That first pic looks like a rat on a unicycle

[MairzyDoats]

Bastard rats on the underground never give up their seats either

[groundcontroltomontydon]

'Artisan' bakeries that display food uncovered for flies to march over and grubby fingers to maul concern me more than rats pushing each other round in supermarket trollies

[tkband3]

I saw two mice in Aldi the other day...they were peeking out from behind the cucumbers 😄. I quietly told one of the members of staff who said “oh no, not another one - I’ve just put him outside!!” The staff were very perturbed. I mentioned it to a friend who used to work in Waitrose and she says they’d had to close the shop once because of mice!! All supermarkets will have them.

[FudgeBrownie2019]

One of our cats brought a rat home the other week and it ran around the dining room having a right old time of it while the cat washed it's backside. I ended up using the paddling pool cleaning scoop to get the rat outside, by which time DH had Googled and diagnosed himself with weils disease because the rat ran across his foot.

To be honest the most revolting part of supermarkets for me are the trolley handles. You know full well Kim and Aggie would have conniptions at how much bacteria and bodily discharge was on there.

[SwimmerGirl40]

I saw some foxes having a ball, playing on the trolleys at night. This was outside Aldi in a retail park. I drove in at night, after it had closed, to turn around.

[DesperadoDan]

My Grandmother always told me to never drink out of cans, she said rats wee on them when they are stored in warehouses. I have never drunk out of a can.

[RomanyQueen]

My dh, is a musician travelling through towns and cities to get to motorways, he sees this a lot, in the early mornings.
It's not just a few either, mostly foxes, rats, and skanky cats.

[PissOffPeppa]

I've shopped regularly in supermarkets for over 40 years and I have never contracted a rat based disease

[Pinkmouse6]

by which time DH had Googled and diagnosed himself with weils disease because the rat ran across his foot.