Jan 10, 2008 9:30 pm US/Eastern
NYC Takes High-Tech Approach To Rat Problems
Health Department Inspectors Canvas City With Computers
NEW YORK (AP) ―
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The city plans an aggressive, high-tech approach to eliminating rat infestations.
AP
Juan Cardenas was tossing his trash into a garbage can in his Bronx apartment last summer when something suddenly appeared on his arm. It wasn't a loose piece of trash -- it was a rat.
"I was traumatized," said Cardenas, 21. "I screamed and ran."
Cardenas is just one of the millions of New Yorkers who have been terrorized by the red-eyed rodents. But help could soon be on the way.
The city Health Department recently launched a program in the Bronx in which inspectors equipped with hand-held computers canvass neighborhoods in search of evidence of rat infestations. They will then develop a neighborhood rodent profile to better target infestations.
"No one wants to live in a neighborhood with a serious rat problem," said Dan Kass, who worked on designing the program. "They are capable of contaminating food supplies. They damage utility pipes and electrical wires."
The city has traditionally dealt with rat complaints on an individual basis. But under the new system, inspectors will fan out across the affected neighborhoods to create a fuller profile of the rodent infestation.
Inspectors will look for rodent hair, droppings, and burrow and gnaw markings around buildings, along with signs of food. The data is plugged into a database and letters are issued to landlords demanding that they take care of the rodent problem within five days or face fines.
And the inspectors will come back to the building to make sure the rodents are gone and, if necessary, conduct exterminations themselves.
The department also plans to share their findings with community groups, provide guidance for property owners and educate private exterminators.
If the program is successful, it will be implemented in other boroughs beyond the Bronx.
But experts and exterminators continue to stress prevention as the best way to stop infestations.
Samuel Soto, 44, a licensed exterminator in the Bronx for the last 15 years, recommends sealing building entrypoints, such as cable wire or plumbing locations where the creatures can crawl inside.
Kass advises residents to keep trash off of the sidewalks until just before garbage is picked up. He also recommends putting bags in waste receptacles instead.
"Deny them food," said Kass. "If we keep food away from rats, they won't thrive."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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