“We’ve got a runner!” shouted Andre Pitman, a pest controllist for the District’s Department of Health, as a rat scurried across the sidewalk into yet another burrow.
The city is waging a pest control battle on multiple fronts to deal with its growing rat problem. DOH’s Rodent Control team works on the front lines.
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The team goes on regular patrols to check traps, destroy rat tunnels and cite businesses for leaving dumpsters open.
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It’s an uphill battle, team members say. Rats build tunnels beneath soil and concrete, chew through garage doors and can squeeze through holes the size of a dollar coin, project manager Gerard Brown says. “You have to be smart to survive.”
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Sylvia Cysiffary of Eastern Market says she regularly finds dead rats outside her home. She blames a nearby cafe that often leaves its dumpster lids open. Cysiffary runs a private Facebook page to inform her neighbors about the persistent rat problem.
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Officials say Eastern Market’s rat population is the highest in the city, rivaled only by Adams Morgan.
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In addition to traps, controllists manage rat populations by mapping underground rat tunnels with a chalk-like substance and then filling them with dirt.
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Workers say more and more restaurants are leaving their dumpster lids open, providing rats with an easy food source.
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The city will launch a rat sterilization program in the coming months. Until then, it’s up to the Rodent Control team to keep rats at bay.
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