NYC’s new “Rat Information Portal” is being billed as “a one-stop resource website for New Yorkers’ rat prevention needs.” In addition to tips on how to control rat populations, the website also supplies an interactive “Rat Map” with data on inspections, violations, compliance, exterminations, and cleanups for any property in the city going back three years. Basically, it is a hotspot map for creepy vermin within the city. The idea is to put pressure on property owners who are slow to address their growing rat problems and give everyday citizens the tools they need to fight back. That’s right folks…NYC has declared war against the rats. [Rat Information Portal via SFGate]
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November 3, 2008 at 2:22 AM
Excellent start in NY at gaining information on where their problems are located. Believe they’ll find what they already know, rats are everywhere in the city. New York has taken an approach of trying to clean up the city to control rats. With all the sources of food and abundant habitat that is going to be a long and impossible war to win.
Most cities use an approach to rodent control also refferred to as “Whack-A-Rat”. If you have seen the arcade game you will understand the similarity. A caller complains about rats, the city responds usually by using some granular rodenticide. This is reactionary rodent control and will do little if anything to control rodents. The alternative is to get serious and implement a real plan. Go ProActive. This involves using methodically placed rodent boxes to significantly impact the population.
Why have cities not taken this approach before? One city had and it worked very well but implementing it was chaos because of the inspections required for the boxes to work. They did not have the technology to implement it correctly. We now have a system to accomplish that and more called the U-Trap-It Pest Management Service System it acts as the central command center verifying, recording, and analyzing the pest plan efforts. The system has been protecting food processing and other pest sensitive industries for over fourteen years around the World. It has also been in use in municipal rodent control where it has reduced rodent complaint calls over 90%. Of those remaining complaints, 90% are someone complaining about their neighbor’s overflowing garbage tote.
That is success and it can be done anywhere today.
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