Garbage In, Garbage Out

Garbage is the main food for Norway rats in cities. In the 1970s, steel cans with tight-fitting lids were standard and the U.S. Public Health Service allowed no more than 15 percent of premises on each block to have exposed garbage. Today, steel cans are nearly gone and we store our garbage in plastic carts or steel Dumpsters with plastic lids.

These containers are easy to handle, but almost none of them meet the old USPS specifications for rat control. Most Dumpsters have lids that let rats get to the garbage even when they are closed. None of the carts are rat proof because rats can gnaw through the plastic. As a result, most blocks in Chicago and other major cities have more than 15 percent exposed garbage even when the containers are closed.

Open-top containers along sidewalks, and public spaces provide rats with French fries, pizza crusts, chicken bones and other fast food discards. Because law-abiding dog walkers follow the rules and pick up after their pets, rats no longer search for dog feces. They head straight for the “rat feeders” on the sidewalk.

WHAT TO DO? What’s the answer? Metal cans and lids are not coming back. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept the status quo.

The Dumpster solution is straightforward: cities need to specify rat-proof lids. Cities that specify plastic Dumpster lids with openings of 1/4 inch or less are wasting their time. Rats simply gnaw the edge of the lid until the opening is big enough to let themselves in. There are many ways to rat proof a Dumpster lid, including using light composite materials that rats can’t gnaw. It is time to force the issue.

One strategy for plastic carts and sidewalk bins is to intercept the rats with bait stations before they get to the garbage. It is difficult to intercept rats with conventional stations that must be installed at a distance from the container. But if the bait station can be incorporated into the container itself, the cart or bin becomes a rat killer instead of a rat feeder. Wheels with built in tamper-resistant bait stations are now available for garbage carts. These are highly effective even though the rats have to do some gymnastics to get to the bait. Now we need to develop interceptor stations for the bases of sidewalk bins.

Our cities are waiting.

The author is a Chicago-based pest management consultant who specializes in rodent control programs, damage analysis and litigation support. Contact him at 773/684-2011 or via e-mail at grotramel@giemedia.com.