Rodent control in urban areas - An interdisciplinary approach

In 1992, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L, Schmoke created the Rodent Control Committ ee to combat the increasing Norway rat population in Baltimore City. Follow ing a pilot project, programs were conducted in two sections of the city fr om which high numbers of rat complaints had been reported, These three-mont h programs attacked the rodent problem via an integrated pest management ap proach that emphasized public education by trained community leaders and he alth department workers, increased community cleanup projects coordinated b y the Bureau of Solid Waste, and intensified baiting by the city's Rat Rubo ut Program, Direct intervention eliminated up to 90 percent of rat burrows present in the target neighborhoods. Follow-up surveys, however, showed tha t in neighborhoods with environmental factors favoring rat populations, rei nfestations achieved preintervention levels within six months, Attempts to modify the behavior of residents, which is vital in reducing and eliminatin g rodent infestation, were generally unsuccessful.