Rodent Control in Urban Areas: An Interdisciplinary Approach

In 1992, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke created the Rodent Control Committee to combat the increasing Norway rat population in Baltimore City. Following a pilot project, programs were conducted in two sections of the city From which high numbers of rat complaints had been reported. These three-mont...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental health 1999-01, Vol.61 (6), p.12-17
Main Authors: Lambropoulos, A. Soula, Fine, Joshua B., Perbeck, Amy, Torres, Donald, Glass, Gregory E., McHugh, Patrick, Dorsey, Elias A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communities
Control
FEATURES
Housing
Infestation
Municipal solid waste
Neighborhoods
Paper bags
Pest control
Pilot studies
Rats
Rodent control
Rodent populations
Rodents
Urban areas
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Summary:In 1992, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke created the Rodent Control Committee to combat the increasing Norway rat population in Baltimore City. Following a pilot project, programs were conducted in two sections of the city From which high numbers of rat complaints had been reported. These three-month programs attacked the rodent problem via an integrated pest management approach that emphasized public education by trained community leaders and health department workers, increased community cleanup projects coordinated by the Bureau of solid Waste, and intensified baiting by the city's Rat Rubout Program. Direct intervention elimination up to 90 percent of rat burrow present in the target neighborhoods. Follow-up surveys, however, showed that in neighborhoods with environmental factors favoring rat population, reinfestations achieved preintervention levels within six months. Attempts to were generally unsuccessful.
ISSN:0022-0892