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CioBella
Citizen
Username: Ciobella
Post Number: 27
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 9, 2004 - 11:02 pm: |     |
Rat problem has Irvington rattled
Overrun by oversize rodents, township officials are striking back
Sunday, February 08, 2004
BY REGINALD ROBERTS
Star-Ledger Staff
The most popular fish tales in Irvington are not about fish. They're about rats.
One has the rats so mean and vicious that a cat doesn't stand a chance. The cat dies. The rat lives. Another one has rats as big as dogs.
In a town where crime and drug deals are all too common, it's the rat who has become Public Enemy No. 1.
Perhaps they're some truth to the those tall rat tales. Mayor Wayne Smith certainly thinks so.
"Got rats?" was the attention- getter for a flier for an all-day workshop he recently held on rodent control.
During a public hearing last Saturday, one man told how rats take over the street in his neighborhood when darkness falls.
The rats are so scary that some people move to the other side to avoid them, he said.
Movernie Crawford said she had to handle the rat problem around her day care center on her own.
She's not alone. Lorena Joyner said she started battling rats five years after she moved to Grove Street. That was 22 years ago.
"They get worse and worse each year," she said during an interview last week. "Honey, they're like field rats, running everywhere. They got so bad they run in front of the house. But thank God, they're too big to get in."
When that happens, Joyner said, she's moving out of town.
Joyner said she and her husband have been fighting a losing battle. No matter how many traps they set or how much poison they put down, the rats never go away. She figures they've caught at least 50 rats in the past few years.
"It's really bad," she said. "It's a shame. "And not only that, it's embarrassing."
Yes, the rats are big in Irvington and have seemed to have invaded every neighborhood in town, said Sandra Harris, the township health officer.
Maybe they're not big as dogs. "I've seen them big as cats," she said, adding that burrows where they live are commonly visible.
Rats provoke fear in people, and it's natural that humans are afraid of them, Harris said. "People don't want to live with rats. That's the reason the Pied Piper led them out of Hamelin."
Despite their menacing effect on the population, the rats don't seem to be causing any health threats, Harris said. She said she hasn't seen a rat bite in Irvington in the past five years.
Regardless of whether the rats pose a health problem, the mayor wants to send them packing.
But Smith sees the rats as just another urban ill Irvington will have to face as he seeks to change the town's image.
"It's a tough issue," he said. "Whether it's crime, economic development or rodent elimination, we're taking a communitywide, team approach. I'm not burying my head in the sand."
Smith said it would take government and the community working together to solve the rat problem.
Toward that end, Smith convened a panel that includes his department heads as well as rodent extermination experts.
Rats are just like humans in their quest for survival, said Spencer Corbett, president of Corbett Exterminating Inc. of Cranford. "They need food, water and shelter."
Irvington provides plenty of all three, officials said. Abandoned buildings, junk cars and lots with overgrown weeds are good places for rats to live and breed, Corbett said.
A water source could be a inconspicuous as a puddle underneath a drainage pipe, he said. Once the rat identifies it as a constant source, it will use it and continue to use it until it's gone, Corbett said.
Crumbs are all that's needed to bring rats feeding and breeding. And for a rat-infested neighborhood, a vegetable garden is a bonanza, he said.
"Rats are an easy rodent to control," Corbett said, provided you eliminate their food, water and shelter.
That's the hard part, everyone seems to agree. The water source runs through Irvington -- the Elizabeth River. Plus, there's the town's aging underground sewer system, a great place for rats to live and drink.
Then, there's the garbage, which Irvington's has lots of. One resident said that even the churches and the schools are culprits on this point.
Some churches put out their garbage on Sunday, convenient for them and a good food source for the rats because a collection won't come until a day later, at the earliest.
The mayor said there will be no be sacred cows in Irvington's war on rats. "We'll probably have to set some examples," he said.
At the end of the "Got rats?" retreat, 15 recommendations were made, including strict code enforcement and a law limiting homeowners to two pets. Some want Irvington to become part of the national "Keep America Beautiful" anti-litter campaign.
Residents would be fined for not putting their garbage into a rat-proof container with a tight lid.
Smith said Irvington does what most towns don't: It provides rodent abatement measures to private properties. The recommendation is that rodent abatement be stopped, that the money be used to hire more code inspectors instead.
If the town worked hard to eliminate all the accommodations for rats, it could see the rodent population decrease within 90 days, Corbett said.
"But even if Irvington spent $1 million for rodent control, if people do not eliminate their garbage, the rats won't eat the poison." he said.
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ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 2432
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 9, 2004 - 11:19 pm: | |
... and to think that every 23 days a female rat can produce another litter!
OH, Rats... |
Wilkanoid
Citizen
Username: Cseleosida
Post Number: 102
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 10:15 am: | |
I hear there are rats in our school buildings, too. I suppose they used to be cute, but now they aren't? They have a week to vacate -- before the Board of Education zaps them with chemicals unknown during winter break. In the meantime, they are having their last meal of books, computer wires, and other unknown tidbits courtesy of the M/SO school system. |
CioBella
Citizen
Username: Ciobella
Post Number: 28
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 11:28 am: | |
I hope these Rats from Irvington don't come into Maplewood since we are so close. |
clkelley
Citizen
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 100
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:01 pm: | |
Wilkanoid, which of our school buildings are we talking about here?
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ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 2434
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:09 pm: | |
They said they're running them out of town, but I doubt they'll come to Maplewood, our taxes are too high!  |
Wilkanoid
Citizen
Username: Cseleosida
Post Number: 105
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:13 pm: | |
I got a flyer from the district yesterday about rodent infestation in the schools. I originally thought it was only Jefferson, where the mice have been seen so regularly that (1) in my daughter's classroom, she has given them names, and (2) the kids aren't allowed to put their backpacks and coats in the closet anymore. |
tjohn
Citizen
Username: Tjohn
Post Number: 2228
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:24 pm: | |
Great. No we're going to cull the mice. We all know that if Johny has 50 mice and he exterminates 49 of them, the next day he will have 99.
I say release rat snakes and weasels in Jefferson and let nature run its course. |
mim
Citizen
Username: Mim
Post Number: 318
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:34 pm: | |
I did not get that flyer, Wilkanoid. (We have kids at Clinton and SOMS.) However, I have heard reports of the occasional mouse at Clinton. (And you know what they say about the ONE mouse you see -- he has dozens of friends behind the walls!) |
Wilkanoid
Citizen
Username: Cseleosida
Post Number: 106
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:39 pm: | |
I suppose that they are only sending flyers to the schools that will send the mice to the gas chamber. There would be no reason to send it to other parents. I think.
Anyway, I heard about this 'notification' from another parent last Friday (who got it mid-week), and I only got this flyer yesterday. |
canismajor
Citizen
Username: Canismajor
Post Number: 256
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 12:07 am: | |
It's so depressing to see what sh*thole that town has become. I remember when it used to be a respectable town with a vibrant downtown and well-kept, proud old houses. Now it's one step above Calcutta. |
Ruck1977
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 32
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 8:36 am: | |
I just saw the story on ABC news the other night. This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. The news talked about the rats being driven out of Irvington, and my wife and I were just sort of looked at eachother. Does that mean the rats will stay in the park that seperates us from Irvington, or does that mean the rats are coming to Mapelwood? |
Wilkanoid
Citizen
Username: Cseleosida
Post Number: 110
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 9:11 am: | |
Canismajor -- you seem down in the dumps. Have some chocolate.
I suppose in this First World country, there is a solution to rats. The town just needs to work on it. Be cool. |
CioBella
Citizen
Username: Ciobella
Post Number: 31
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 9:40 am: | |
Which ever way you look at it those RATS will make there way to Maplewood. Then the health department will lie and say Maplewood has no RAT problem. |
Ruck1977
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 34
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 12:19 pm: | |
well, there are steps we can take...
Your backyard (or front) should not be home to clutter. Clutter is where these buggers are going to nest. Also, cover up your trash well!
Perhaps this rat argument gives us some ammunition for the recycling thread I have seen. We have to hold all of these food containers in different bins so that the trash folk can pick it all up and dump it together every two weeks. These bins are rodent bait! |
harpo
Citizen
Username: Harpo
Post Number: 1213
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 12:49 pm: | |
It may be that the weather has been so cold rodents who would otherwise make their homes outdoors have come inside, and once inside, bred more readily than they would have living outdoors during a more typical winter.
Before you ask, tjohn: Yes. Exterminate them.
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Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2438
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 4:27 pm: | |
Ruck is right. There are preventative actions we can take to keep rodent infestation from becoming a serious problem in Maplewood.
Outdoors:
Put out the garbage and trash as close to collection time as possible. Keep edibles out of the trash. Clean recyclibles such as glass and plastic before you put it out for collection.
Remove leaf piles, wood piles, old tires, seldom used vehicles, old appliances and other containers in which rodents can nest from the outdoor areas surrounding your home.
Remove standing water from your property (removes source of water for rodents as well as breeding area for mosquitoes).
Keep doors to garage, outdoor shed, etc. closed as much of the time as possible (to prevent rodents from nesting there).
Don't leave food and water dishes for pets outside. Feed your pets in the house.
Indoors:
Seal up holes that rodents can use to enter your house.
Keep dry foods such as flour, sugar, crackers, pasta, etc. in metal containers rather than paper sacks or boxes.
Keep food areas clean of crumbs, spills,etc.
Move to exterminate rodents as soon as you spot any in your house. |
Boozy the Clown
Citizen
Username: Boozy
Post Number: 22
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 6:50 pm: | |
1. Nuke the city and start fresh
2. 20' walls with gun towers and make it the largest prison with the 2nd
3. Nuke the city and start fresh |
Ruck1977
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 40
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 1:44 pm: | |
ok...not to alarm anyone...but we saw something Friday night. It looked more like an opposum than a rat, but who knows...
this thing was large, and moved sort of slowly. I wish i took a damn picture of it, but it was definitely a large creature.
We live close to Maplewood tire...I'd say, start taking those preventive measures... |
Cutter
Citizen
Username: Cutter
Post Number: 301
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 3:44 pm: | |
Ruck - sounds like you saw a little ol' stewin' possum!
Best way to tell the difference is to remember possums gallumph and rats skitter.
If that doesn't work, it's a fact that for every rat you see there are 9 you didn't see, so if you didn't see 10 rats than it was a possum. |
Ruck1977
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 41
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 3:47 pm: | |
Thanks Cutter! Makes me feel a bit better. It was definitely not skittering! |
compsy
Citizen
Username: Compsy
Post Number: 118
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 3:58 pm: | |
"...seldom-used vehicles..." ????
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Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2445
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 4:18 pm: | |
Compsy:
Rodents like to nest inside cars and trucks but they are far less likely to do so if the vehicle is used regularly. Cars up on blocks and "2nd" cars which are used only on occassion are prime targets. Keeping the vehicle locked doesn't work as a preventative measure since they can often get in through the under carriage or some other small opening.
I seem to recall someone posting not too long ago about a rodent in car problem. |
Marc
Citizen
Username: Bautisma
Post Number: 102
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 11:00 am: | |
I kinda like Boozy's ideas |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 2441
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 11:56 am: | |
Lets start to get serious here people....
Secure, elevate, and protect your garbage cans, pick up your yards of all junk, remove any containers that would hold water, and bait your properties with poison on a regular basis. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2452
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 1:06 pm: | |
Art:
I like all of the suggestions you listed above except for the recommendation that we all put poison out on our properties on a regular basis. There are too many young children and pets roaming around for that to be a safe action.
Here's another suggestion (made by the exterminator who did a regularly scheduled check of our property earlier today):
Flush the toilet in your basement at least once a week. This will not only keep sewer gases from building up in your basement but it will also discourage sewer rats and insects that breed in the sewers from entering your home through the toilet's waste line. |
Tom Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 2148
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 1:21 pm: | |
Wow, now I'm glad I don't have a so-called Maplewood toilet.
Tom Reingold the prissy-pants
There is nothing
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ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 2460
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 4:08 pm: | |
Joan, your right, but the outside poison I use is kept in a closed container to protect it from children and pets... really, only the rats have access to it. |
CioBella
Citizen
Username: Ciobella
Post Number: 36
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 10:14 am: | |
Well RATS have been spotted in the area of SFA. I was driving down SFA last night and a RAT came running across the Avenue. SO what is Maplewood gonna do now???? Rite Aid and Papa Johns garbage is unbelieveable. When is the town gonna do something about it. They always try to cover it up that Maplewood doesn't have RATS. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 2029
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 10:37 am: | |
I live above Ridgewood and saw a rat cross our street last summer. It was not a possum, it was a rat. I have a rat poison bait trap by my garbage cans. Only rats can get in and probably chipmunks. The poison has been completely eaten and re-baited twice as per the Western Pests guy.
It's not so shocking really. Rats can be found in the toniest of places. |
Morrisa da Silva
Citizen
Username: Mod
Post Number: 32
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, March 7, 2004 - 8:13 pm: | |
Last week I saw a rat outside of the dumpster in the parking lot behind Arturos. It looked like a dying rat. I went into Arturo's and told the owner. I don't know what he did with that information. How common are rats in the village? |
cody
Citizen
Username: Cody
Post Number: 493
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 7, 2004 - 11:10 pm: | |
Well, we moved here in the early 1980s and I remember that soon after we moved in I saw a rat run across the parking lot by what is now the coffee place (used to be a camera store back then). So they have been around for quite a while here in town. They are very intelligent creatures with a well-developed social network. I realize we don't like to see them around our town, but I worry about indiscriminately using poison to get rid of them.
What usually happens when a large number of rats is killed by poison is that the remaining rats have more food available to them. They prosper and give birth to larger litters.
There was a fascinating story about rats in the New York Times Sunday Magazine a few weeks ago. |
CioBella
Citizen
Username: Ciobella
Post Number: 46
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, March 7, 2004 - 11:10 pm: | |
Not as bad as the rats behind Papa Johns. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2568
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 5:17 pm: | |
We live in the suburbs. Deer, racoons, squirrels, otters, possum, rabbits, ducks, geese, and even mice and rats are part of the ecosystem. As long as we don't go out of our way to provide any of them with food and shelter, their numbers shouldn't get too out of hand. (Yes planting shrubs on our lots can be considered a form of providing food for the deer)
Situations like to one described by several posters near the Pap Johns/ Rite Aid lot are disturbing. These conditions should be referred to the town health officer who can issue health violations to the perpetrators. |
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