DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The City of Dearborn has launched a new attack on rats. In addition, using rat poison and other measures above ground, the pest control company Orkin is now working with Dearborn by attacking the problem in the city's sanitary sewer lines.
“Historically, Dearborn has faced challenges when mitigating rat infestations across the city during the colder months when rodents head underground to escape the weather," Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said in a statement. "This new, multifaceted above and below-ground solution allows us to manage rat populations more safely and efficiently year-round.”
Orkin has now placed rat poison on steel cables and lowered the bait into 460 manholes around the city.
"We tried to spread it around to areas where we're getting the most amount of rat complaints, but also spread it out throughout the entire city," said Renault Arseneau, Code Enforcement Manager for the City of Dearborn.
Arseneau said Orkin's experts will monitor the dropped baits and report to the city on a weekly basis about where they are seeing the most rat activity.
But some residents like Craig Gorkiewicz are concerned that the use of rat poison, above ground and now in city sewer lines, will be harmful to other wildlife, pets, and feral cats that may consume a poisoned rat.
"Residents also don't want to be using poison that's harming other animals," Gorkiewicz told 7 Action News.
"Rats aren't going to just eat it and die, right? Rats are going to eat it and they'll be lucky if they die within a couple days," said Gorkiewicz, adding the concern that rats are developing a resistance to the poison and that resistance is passed on as rats rapidly breed.
Methods Gorkiewicz does favor include traps where the rat is contained and cannot leave as well as a system called BurrowRx which involves covering up holes in the ground and then shooting carbon monoxide down into the areas where rats burrow.
"It, basically, it suffocates them," he said.
Gorkiewicz also believes the city should increase the issuance of blight violations around properties where rats thrive.
If any resident or business owner is experiencing a rat issue or would like to request a property inspection by the city's Vector Control team, they can contact the City of Dearborn at 313-943-2150.
Dearborn's Vector Control team released the following information regarding rat bait poisoning.
- In general, rats die about 3-5 days after consumption of a rodenticide.
- During colder months, such as now, rats tend to stay underground in warm sewers, away from the elements and predators, and will tend to remain down there after consuming the bait.
- Only 0.005% per 1 oz of bait is actually “poison”. Rodenticide used by the City and Orkin is mandated by the EPA to break down into its constituent non-toxic parts within 30 days after exposure to the environment.
- The City of Dearborn and Orkin are state certified to use second generation rodenticides, not available to regular consumers. They require a single dose, meaning rats do not have to continue feeding on it over time and potentially build up toxins within their system.
- Dearborn now uses Burrow RX, a state-of-the-art, environmentally-conscious, carbon monoxide sprayer used underground in rat burrows to eliminate infestation. Upon confirming the presence of rats, trained City specialists now deploy Burrow RX which, unlike other pest control solutions, does not threaten the health of people, pets, and wildlife living near an infestation.
