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DC ramps up war on rodents
Washington, D.C. is ramping up its war on rodents.
WASHINGTON - Washington, D.C. officials are working hard to make the District as unwelcoming as possible – to rats.
What we know:
On Monday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a message on social media, declaring: "We’re making DC a tougher place to be a rat." She listed several specific ways in which officials are doing that.
First up, 20 "Big Belly" trash cans, which are part of a new pilot program. They are fully enclosed and have sensors that alert crews when they’re full.
Bowser also mentioned a rodent birth control pilot, as well as secured composting bins, dedicated rat abatement teams, and a plea for residents and businesses to secure their bins and not to litter.
What they're saying:
"Mitigating rats is a shared responsibility because we can come out and treat and treat and treat, but what are we doing to address the actual problem of why the rodents are there?," explained Andre Pitman, the program manager for DC Health’s rodent and vector control division. Pitman runs a team of 16 inspectors.
"When we're talking about rats, everybody has to work together and do their part for us to get rid of them," he said.
Dig deeper:
Of course, D.C. isn’t alone among major cities in the fight against rats. New York, for instance, has implemented some similar measures and has reportedly had some recent success.
The Source: Information in this article is from DC Health and Mayor Muriel Bowser.