Rat prevention difficult, necessary

Food, water and shelter are the three things that a rat needs to survive.

Eighty percent of… Food, water and shelter are the three things that a rat needs to survive.

Eighty percent of a rat’s diet is garbage, according to a rodent control pamphlet from the Allegheny County Health Department.

Old household items, such as chairs, sofas and refrigerators should not be left in student’s yards after they have been discarded. They provide rats with nesting materials and hiding places, according to the pamphlet.

Old cars left on property for an extended period of time can also attract rats.

Bill Todaro, the entomologist for the Allegheny County Health Department, said that Oakland has a rat problem because of its old sewers, which are full of rats.

He added that rats live where pipes are cracked or broken.

“Any time they find a route to the surface, they come out,” Todaro said. “A lot of times you’ll see sewer rats running around and playing like children.”

To prevent rats from getting in, Todaro suggested taking 00 gauge steel wool and shoving it into cracks and crevices around the house.

Todaro said that getting rid of rats should be a neighborhood effort. Since Oakland is a college neighborhood, it is more difficult to organize than in a typical residential community.

“I don’t think the rat problem is horrible,” Laura Halula, community organizer for the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation said. “I think it is a problem citywide.”

Halula said she is aware that at one time there was a rat problem on South Bouquet Street near the intersections of Bates Street and Dawson Street.

Halula said that she believes the rat problem is due to a combination of high street populations and student ignorance about trash.

“I think [the rodent conditions] have improved over the past few years,” Halula, a Pitt graduate, said.

In order to keep rats away, Halula suggested that students put trash in containers when they take it outside. She also advised students not to put trash out before 7 p.m. on the night before trash day.

Todaro also suggested using snap traps, glue boards and rat poisons to get rid of rats. He said to bait the traps for a few days before setting them in order to get the rats used to visiting them.

The pamphlet suggested that dog food and birdseed should not sit out for long periods of time because these are two major sources of food for rats.

All grain products normally kept inside the house, such as cereal and pasta, should be stored in glass or metal containers, the pamphlet said.

“Rats won’t eat bait unless they’re hungry,” Todaro said.

Students who have a rat problem should call the Allegheny County Health Department.