By the end of the year, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association will have distributed 1,300 rat-proof, covered trashcans in the West Broadway neighborhood. For the past two years the WBNA’s “Rat Eradication Demonstration Pilot Program” has reduced the rat population and the amount of litter in the street in targeted areas. The program has included the education of residents and business owners about trash containment and recycling.
The pilot program has been a huge success. That’s a good sign, because the problem of rats in our capital city is also huge.
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This summer, the city experienced one of its worst rat infestations in memory, according to health officials and several neighborhood groups. The outbreak of rats is attributed to two mild winters, construction and demolition projects in the city and ineffective trash management in several neighborhoods.
The city has been somewhat aggressive in addressing the problem, hiring a private company to help and even starting a hotline, 454-PEST. Those efforts must continue.
We would recommend that city officials look closely at the results of the WBNA program and consider the feasibility of incorporating it, or something similar to it, citywide.
Kari Lang, executive director of the WBNA, suggests the next step in the battle against the rats should be the distribution of more advanced garbage cans or “supercarts” with attached covers that eliminate the chance of accidental spills.
The system, she said, has worked in other cities, including Chicago, where each household was given a “supercart” and the rat population fell by 50 percent.
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