CIA Committed To Tackling Rat Problem

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Although Baltimore County paid for a successful rat eradication effort last year in Dundalk, the rats are back and the Colgate Improvement Association intends to develop it own eradication program even if it can't get all the help it wants from the county this time.

At an improvement association board of directors meeting at  near the Eastpoint Mall Tuesday, community leaders and a county representative discussed the issue with association president David Hyland pushing for a more aggressive rat eradication effort.

Meanwhile, Bryan Sheppard, the special assistant to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz who attended the CIA board meeting, said the current Baltimore County rat eradication plan calls for a complaint-driven, block-by-block approach.

Sheppard said the county spent roughly $100,000 last year targeting five rat-infested Dundalk areas, including homes in Colgate. And by all accounts, the county's comprehensive effort was effective in Colgate and other Dundalk areas.

But there are rat problems in more parts of the county now, Sheppard said. The county has budgeted $160,000 for rat eradication efforts and that money will be spread countywide to attack the growing rat problems.

“We’re seeing a lot in Arbutus, Lansdowne, Catonsville,” Sheppard said. “It’s not just isolated [in southeastern Baltimore County]. It’s picking up in the other communities.”

Hyland, who used to be an exterminator, is worried about the local neighborhoods, though.

“It’s gotten to the point where (the rats) are out during the daytime,” Hyland said.

Lionel Van Dommelen, chief of code enforcement for Baltimore County, said the rat eradication program this year is scheduled to begin in two or three weeks and will include Catonsville, Hillendale, Essex-Middle River and Dundalk areas.

“The key [long-term solution] is to eliminate the food source,” said Dommelen, who in June. “I know David [Hyland] and the community association has done a great job educating residents. The situation has improved since this time last year, but I know there is still a problem.”

Hyland said he doesn’t believe a complaint-driven, block-by-block approach will be as effective as the county’s effort last year. He said there needs to be a comprehensive neighborhood approach, and then follow-up as well.

“The rats are smart, they’ll move,” Hyland said, adding that rats can reproduce every 21 days.

Hyland's proposal is have Colgate residents register with the improvement association to buy over-the-counter rat poison obtained at minimal, bulk prices by the CIA. Residents would be instructed on how to use the rat poison—and also be required to sign a liability waiver.

“If your dog or child gets a hold of this [poison], it’s dangerous,” Hyland said. He suggested that CIA members at the meeting visit www.doyourownpestcontrol.com for more information.

Hyland said he invited Sheppard to the Tuesday meeting to hear complaints about the rat problem first-hand and also to lay out his preliminary plan for eradication in Colgate.

Hyland said he hoped the county could assist the improvment association's effort with a grant to help pay for the poison and purchase rat boxes. At the moment, Hyland said, he has organized a brief test run with several local residents using rat poison at their properties.

After the meeting, Sheppard said Baltimore County wants to partner with community groups willing to work and improve their neighborhoods but expressed reservations about whether the county could assist a community in rat eradication using poison.

“From the county perspective, liability is an issue,” Sheppard said. “Also, grants tied to organizations must be (for registered non-profits). There’s lots legal stuff, process. But the county has to listen if people have ideas. The answer has to be determined right now.”