Rodents everywhere in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not too long ago, we were having dinner in the patio of a well-known coffee shop in Dupont Circle when 5-6 rats came out of the bushes & started jumping and twirling as if they were dancing Swan Lake.

I see DC alleys & streets filled with rats. I see rat poo everywhere. I see them blazingly crossing streets in plain sight.

How can we pressure DC officials to do something about this? Educating ppl to be careful with their trash isn’t enough.

What about increasing the frequency of trash collection in the city? Is there anything that can be done to address this issue, which has gotten worse during the pandemic?

They are much, much worse in Arlington. Especially North Arlington.

WTF? No they aren't. N Arl doesn't have a rat problem.

Arlington—north and south—has rats. Lots of rats.

Just like Del Ray!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The pest control company Orkin's list of U.S. cities with the worst rat problems ranks Washington, DC as fourth.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/americas-50-most-rat-infested-cities-ranked/50/

1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. New York City
4. Washington, DC
5. San Francisco

Their mayors and other locally elected politicians should be ashamed of themselves. Shame on the residents who elect such filth.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been meaning to contact my council member to see if we can bring back the ratpalloza that happened during the Fenty years, like circa 2008, 2009. They treated a block at a time. We got a notice to keep pets/young kids from mucking around outside for like 2 days. It made a noticeable difference. Anyone else remember that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better, harsher abatement is necessary. A team of rat dogs and a couple of handlers can clear a block in a night.

This.

A Ratter team (handler and 3-4 trained Jack Russel terriers) can kill HUNDREDS of rats a night.

Also, branch out.. More natural predators of rats. Owls, hawks, falcons, rat snakes (harmless to people but voracious when it comes to rats), etc.

These aren't city animals from what I understand, cats and dogs are. But people would have a fit if we get stray dogs and cats running around, also a lot of them would get killed by cars, especially dogs. I think a combo of trained bird and rat-terrier teams for more aggressive cleanup and a few neutered/spayed feral cats for routine maintenance should make a difference. But finding out the problem where they nest and breed and hide would go a long way too. Problem is city isn't doing anything to hire professionals to investigate the problem.

With the homeless issue, the trash issue, rats will thrive in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been meaning to contact my council member to see if we can bring back the ratpalloza that happened during the Fenty years, like circa 2008, 2009. They treated a block at a time. We got a notice to keep pets/young kids from mucking around outside for like 2 days. It made a noticeable difference. Anyone else remember that?

Yes. Fenty may not have been an intellectual giant, but he tried really hard to continue the Anthony Williams momentum to make DC a good place to live. Vince Gray put a stop to all that and now look where we are. Almost back in the Barry years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better, harsher abatement is necessary. A team of rat dogs and a couple of handlers can clear a block in a night.

This.

A Ratter team (handler and 3-4 trained Jack Russel terriers) can kill HUNDREDS of rats a night.

Ok, all of these are great suggestions, but what can we do to force city to do something? And because everything is so controlled, I doubt that it would be ok for some random home owner to bring a team of trained dogs or cats or falcons and unleash them without some neighbors complaining and owners getting fined. We should have the city pay for this and hire professionals.

We kill so many feral cats in shelters, they are not easily adoptable, and they get neutered/spayed and released. Why not get some of them into the cities? They can co-exist with us like they always did and do in many places. Falcons and trained dogs would be on demand (as they require trained supervision), and cats would be to do maintenance work while we sleep .

Yes, what can we do? I remember years ago when we lived in Dupont we had the city come out multiple times..the rat people came.out.in space suits and basically said there was nothing they could do. Errr, Ok...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been meaning to contact my council member to see if we can bring back the ratpalloza that happened during the Fenty years, like circa 2008, 2009. They treated a block at a time. We got a notice to keep pets/young kids from mucking around outside for like 2 days. It made a noticeable difference. Anyone else remember that?

Yes. Fenty may not have been an intellectual giant, but he tried really hard to continue the Anthony Williams momentum to make DC a good place to live. Vince Gray put a stop to all that and now look where we are. Almost back in the Barry years.

This sounds amazing. If you make a stock letter and share here and on neighborhood list served (places like Cleveland park list serve), we can all send it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not surprising that there are more rodents. There is trash along all of the roads because it’s not picked up anymore. It’s noticeable as soon as you enter the city. There are homeless encampments everywhere surrounded by trash. There are many more dog owners and a certain percentage don’t pick up waste. The winters have been mild. It’s a perfect environment for rats.

This. The cities had become dirtier overall. DC used to be cleaner, when you turn a city into a skid row, there is no surprise vermin will follow. Also, there must be some structural issues with easy access to sewers for the rats probably. City has to do something about it, starting with some major cleanup. Owners can only do so much. It really takes a city. Also hold garbage companies accountable for spilling the garbage during pickup and not cleaning up. We had this happen in front of our row house numerous times, it's public property, not ours to clean, they just throw the bags and if something spills, nobody picks up.

One thing that makes the rat situation worse that no one talks about is all of the outdoor dining stuff now. They need to close those things down to provide the rats less access to hiding spaces where there is direct access to food waste.

[Anonymous]

I admit I was surprised walking up NJ avenue last weekend the sheer number of rats I saw just after sunset. I noticed two even jump the iron fences of a couple rowhouses close to the Capitol.

[Anonymous]

I live in DC, but recently saw rats in Pentagon City mall. It’s getting really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not surprising that there are more rodents. There is trash along all of the roads because it’s not picked up anymore. It’s noticeable as soon as you enter the city. There are homeless encampments everywhere surrounded by trash. There are many more dog owners and a certain percentage don’t pick up waste. The winters have been mild. It’s a perfect environment for rats.

This. The cities had become dirtier overall. DC used to be cleaner, when you turn a city into a skid row, there is no surprise vermin will follow. Also, there must be some structural issues with easy access to sewers for the rats probably. City has to do something about it, starting with some major cleanup. Owners can only do so much. It really takes a city. Also hold garbage companies accountable for spilling the garbage during pickup and not cleaning up. We had this happen in front of our row house numerous times, it's public property, not ours to clean, they just throw the bags and if something spills, nobody picks up.

One thing that makes the rat situation worse that no one talks about is all of the outdoor dining stuff now. They need to close those things down to provide the rats less access to hiding spaces where there is direct access to food waste.

If you travel overseas you will find outdoor dining to be the norm, but rat issues aren't out of hand like this, at least I didn't notice this. Rats in DC are widespread on residential streets where there is no outdoor dining. They take advantage of garbage containers and often chew through them. Also if trash pickup generates debris, this debris is never cleaned because seems like nobody is cleaning between the buildings, on the back of the buildings, etc. And if citizens decide to exterminate the rats and mitigate issues with cementing down any holes around their property, etc, it's short lasting relief when your neighbors aren't doing the same and the city isn't on board helping out or providing adequate street cleaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not too long ago, we were having dinner in the patio of a well-known coffee shop in Dupont Circle when 5-6 rats came out of the bushes & started jumping and twirling as if they were dancing Swan Lake.

I see DC alleys & streets filled with rats. I see rat poo everywhere. I see them blazingly crossing streets in plain sight.

How can we pressure DC officials to do something about this? Educating ppl to be careful with their trash isn’t enough.

What about increasing the frequency of trash collection in the city? Is there anything that can be done to address this issue, which has gotten worse during the pandemic?

They are much, much worse in Arlington. Especially North Arlington.

What? Never seen any rats in South Arlington.

I had rats in my walls in my condo in S. Arlington. It was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:roof rats -- terrifying.

Anyone else reluctant to use their outdoor patio spaces to eat because of rat encounters? Only has to happen once or twice to totally shatter your warm "urban oasis" vibe about your outdoor space

I used to live on Capitol Hill and couldn't use my patio after dark. It was awful.

[Anonymous]

I have had really good experience with the rodent czar in DC over the years. He is responsive and works hard to address the issue and follow up. His team even takes on NPS property issues particularly during federal shutdowns.

The ongoing rat epidemic exploded with work at home during the pandemic. Rodents which used to ply their trade in the vicinity of restaurants relocated to a more than ample source of proteins in residential trash. The other issue is the proliferation of sidewalk and streetery outdoor dining. Construction projects involving excavation have only added to the issue. I have never seen anything like it in 20 years snd have been in communication with the alley cats program (we already have a couple of outdoor cats making the rounds on the block). So trash now goes out before sundown.

DC will treat burrows in your front, rear or side yards but the disconnect is they will no longer set bait traps in paved alleyways where rodents run free. To its credit our ANC has been very proactive for a long time in getting restaurants to utilized indoor trash storage in protected containers.

I don’t know what the answer is but there’s a fair amount of blame to go around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better, harsher abatement is necessary. A team of rat dogs and a couple of handlers can clear a block in a night.

This.

A Ratter team (handler and 3-4 trained Jack Russel terriers) can kill HUNDREDS of rats a night.

Ok, all of these are great suggestions, but what can we do to force city to do something? And because everything is so controlled, I doubt that it would be ok for some random home owner to bring a team of trained dogs or cats or falcons and unleash them without some neighbors complaining and owners getting fined. We should have the city pay for this and hire professionals.

We kill so many feral cats in shelters, they are not easily adoptable, and they get neutered/spayed and released. Why not get some of them into the cities? They can co-exist with us like they always did and do in many places. Falcons and trained dogs would be on demand (as they require trained supervision), and cats would be to do maintenance work while we sleep .

It would have to be city sanctioned and residents made aware, especially with dogs. As someone with extensive dog handling experience, people lose their minds over dogs in this city. Like a 15 year old decrepit Golden laying down outside a coffee shop without a leash is getting a 311 call and a fine, no way would people be ok with 6 Jack Russells flying through the alleys killing hundreds of rats. Though a PP was correct in that this could work. I'm fine with the cat thing too.