Overcrowding, waste buildup still causing rat infestation on Chesterfield Street

After months — or for some, years — of living there, residents of Chesterfield Street in West Oakland are still coexisting with a concentrated and invasive rat infestation. 

Students say they often experience rats chewing through their trash, running across their feet or trying to enter their homes. Longtime residents say they believe waste collection issues are a leading cause of the problem. 

Nikhita Vysyaraju, a senior computer science and data science major, said the problem has “stayed the same” since she moved in two years ago.

“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten better. I feel like it’s the same amount of rats and they’re kind of just everywhere,” Vysyaraju said. 

Vysyaraju said the rats have tried to break into her home at night when she enters. 

“You’re always seeing them on your way home, and [you have] to be very careful about not letting them in. You have to be very careful about locking your door behind you,” Vysyaraju said. 

Logan Rutledge, a junior supply chain management major, said other residents have had major issues with the rats. 

“My buddy across the street, he had a problem where rats were chewing out the wires in his car, and stuff stopped working in his car,” Rutledge said.

Jaxon Knapp, a sophomore political science major, said he has had various encounters with the rats since moving in in September.

“There was one really funny experience where one jumped from a trash can onto a vine and started swinging on the vine,” Knapp said.

Knapp said he believes the problem is due to the amount of trash buildup on the street.

“A lot of people put their trash outside early, and there’s sometimes issues with trash collection, and it just gets just bad — like the trash is sitting outside for days,” Knapp said. “I would say congestion [is also an issue]. I think the rats are probably drawn to how populated this street is.”

Chesterfield Street has areas along the curbside designated for residents to leave cans out for trash collection, marked with yellow lines. Knapp said he thinks residents parking along the lines are causing the buildup. 

“There’s cars parked in front of the trash collection areas, and sometimes that causes issues with them not being able to get the trash,” Knapp said.

Jade Wang, a junior psychology major and Chesterfield resident for one and a half years, believes the city waste collection system is the main issue.

“I think it’s just like a difficult hill, and the trash doesn’t get picked up all the time, so it’s kind of just rotting here,” Wang said. 

The City of Pittsburgh mandates trash be left on the curb “in a container with a tight-fitting lid not exceeding 35 gallons in capacity and/or not exceeding 35 lbs in weight.” 

Despite this, Christian Liberto, a junior civil engineering major who has lived on the street for two years, said that the garbage cans issued by the city didn’t come with lids, contributing to the infestation. 

“I think the best way to resolve [the rats] would be to give everyone cans with lids on them. No one has lids, so [the rats] all come around and jump in the trash cans,” Liberto said. 

Recent city changes have been made to mitigate other waste management issues. Pittsburgh City Council voted in October in favor of “Quality of Life” legislation that would approve ticketing for violations such as garbage accumulation in yards, incorrect storage of garbage cans, putting cans out at the wrong time or for too long — for collection days, cans must be put out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and away before 10 p.m. after collection — and contaminating recycling cans with waste. 

Citations are $35 for the first violation and $50 and $100 for the following two, respectively, within a calendar year. Notices will be given during an initial phase-in period, and ticketing will begin in 2025. 

Mayor Ed Gainey’s 2025 budget proposed in September adds additional anti-litter inspectors to city employment in an effort “aimed toward producing a cleaner city for all.”

Private Oakland organizations also continue to try to aid residents and address the garbage problem in the area.

The website pgh.st, a site with a mission to “help tame the complexity of the trash & recycling collections schedule for the residents of the City of Pittsburgh,” provides updated garbage and recycling dates for city residents.

The Oakland Business Improvement District, as a part of its cleaning and beautification initiatives, employs national maintenance contractor Block by Block to clean the commercial corridor of the Oakland district. The organization works seven days a week to remove over 5 tons of trash, 220,000 cigarette butts and 2,000 pizza boxes per year. 

Knapp said he believes looking into the issue further or changing the collection system could help mitigate the issue. 

“I think the first step would just be to investigate the root causes of the rats and then go from there. Maybe accelerated trash pickup or closer attention to how waste is managed on this street,” Knapp said.