Rats on the Rise in U.S. Cities

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 6, 2001 -- In New York City, officials held a Rat Summitand appointed a rodent task force. Sightings of the furry crittersin Chicago have shot up by more than 10,000. A Houston exterminatoreven witnessed a police officer with loaded pistol chasing a ratthrough a house.

All across urban America, rats are scurrying in larger numbersand gnawing at the nerves of city dwellers, prompting federaldisease specialists to seek new solutions.

Health experts say the problem can be traced to a decision twodecades ago to reduce federal funding for rodent control, and morerecently to ever-tightening city government budgets.

"The resurgence of the problem in recent years is connected tocities having to make hard choices about what their prioritiesare," said Jerry Hershovitz of the federal Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, or CDC, in Atlanta.

"As a result, urban rat control in many communities isapproached in a complaint-oriented basis, and that will not solvethe problem," he said.

Not Just a Nuisance

Rats are more than a nuisance. During the 14th century, theyhelped spread the bubonic plague through Europe. And more recentlythey have been known to carry diseases such as typhus orleptospirosis, a potentially serious bacterial illness.

"A mouse in your house or a rat — they could potentially killyou," said Robert Corrigan, a Richmond, Ind., rodent specialist."We are competing on this earth with rats."

There's little doubt about the public's concern.

In Boston, complaints are up by 40 percent. Chicago ratsightings increased from 22,431 in July 2000 to 33,134 last month.And New York exterminations and rat inspections grew by about19,600 between July 1999 and June 2001.

All the sun and surf doesn't help in the West, where a differentbreed of rat thrives on the warmth. "We have our own problems withthese little critters," lamented Arturo Aguirre of the Los AngelesCounty Department of Health Services.

Recognizing the infestations is easy; finding solutions is a bitmore challenging.

Washington, D.C., officials have stepped up their efforts,baiting 2,000 premises, inspecting nearly 5,000 homes and issuingnew rat-proof garbage cans. They even created a Bureau of CommunityHygiene to address the critter crisis.

"You are never going to kill all the rats. But to keep themunder control, you need a viable program that can be sustained overthe years," said Maurice Knuckles, rodent control programsupervisor for the capital city.

Solutions: Better Compactors, More Tickets

New York City held a Rat Summit last November at whichpest-control experts met with city officials to devise solutions.The city also set up a rat-control task force last July.

Among the solutions: new trash compactors, better education ofrestaurant owners about trash containers and more tickets and finesfor owners who don't follow sanitation guidelines.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, is cited by some as a model. It hasmade rat control a priority, and the number of complaints has heldsteady between 8,000 and 10,000 per year.

Ken Gray, a Houston exterminator, said people don't realizetheir habits are the root of the problem. Instead, he said, peoplecall 911 for rat help, kill rodents with shotguns and lockthemselves in rooms.

Gray, of Rat-A-Way Pest Control and Termite Services, said heeven saw a policeman chase a rat around his house with a gun."Even our fearless fighters are frightened of the little men ingray suits," he said.

Rodent-Control Model Needed

There is no central census of rat populations, but CDC has grownconcerned enough to intervene with a new program that willemphasize prevention and special attention to crowded anddeteriorating neighborhoods.

In September, the center will award two cities about $250,000each to come up with a rodent-control model that state and localagencies can follow.

"The comprehensive approach to the problem is that youeliminate food, water and harborage that allows rats to survive,"CDC's Hershovitz explained. "They will either die or migrate toanother neighborhood that has the conditions to support them."