The Columbus Public Health Department is discontinuing its $275,000 rodent control program in an effort to cut back city spending.
The program was initiated three years ago to combat rodent activity downtown and in the campus area east of High Street. Both areas shared the highest rodent populations in the city, with evidence of rodent activity on two percent of the properties.
Dale Harmon, section chief of the environmental health division of the Columbus Public Health Department, said the program is being cut because of a three percent budget reduction.
“The rats aren’t going away,” said Greg Baumann, vice president of National Pest Management Association. “They’re commensal – they share our table. They eat what we eat and live where we live. They’re tremendous survivors and procreators considering they’ve only been here since the American Revolution.”
Despite Baumann’s predictions of “rodent challenges,” Assistant Director of Media Relations Liz Cook said the Ohio State Office of Off-Campus Student Services is waiting to see if any problems arise. She said it is too early to know what effect the cut will have.
But Jose Rodriguez, spokesman for the Columbus Public Health Department, said that without an effective education program limiting sources of food, water and shelter, the rats could easily return to their 2006 numbers.
The rats’ population grows quickly, according to Rodriguez and Mike Herring of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A female rat typically has about seven young per litter and six to eight litters a year. According to the NPMA, one female can give birth to more than 50 mice per year.
Rats are a health hazard because they are responsible for bacteria and parasitic outbreaks, Rodriguez said. The NPMA reported that “micro droplets of mouse urine can cause allergies in children. Mice can also bring fleas, mites, ticks and lice into your home.”
Since January, the rodent control program’s five employees have been given other jobs in the city. While working for the program, they were responsible for placing poison, distributing fliers and issuing citations.
Without an official city education program, the NPMA has issued a report on the Web to prevent the collection of rodents in homes and offices. The report said to “make sure all holes of larger diameter than a pencil are sealed. Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a nickel. Seal any cracks and voids. Don’t overlook proper drainage at the foundation and always install gutters or diverts which will channel water away from the building.”
Herring admits that most cities have rodent control programs, but said service programs without fees were costly and in decline.
Sixty-nine percent of cities with populations over 100,000 have rodent control programs, according to a study completed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Cities with rodent control programs in Ohio include Akron, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Annie Hall can be reached at [email protected].
