Tips For Keeping Streets Vermin Free

Rats need food, water and shelter to survive. To avoid a rat-friendly environment, follow these guidelines:

Don’t leave food for rats!

•Keep garbage in rodentproof plastic or metal containers or dumpsters with lids tightly fastened.

•Don’t allow garbage to overflow.

•Put out garbage as close to pickup time as possible. Avoid leaving plastic bags outside overnight.

•Wash garbage and recycling cans once a week with soap and water.

•Clean sidewalks and the area around your property thoroughly.

•While on the street, always deposit trash in a can, never on the street. Remember that feeding pigeons can also provide food for rats.

Don’t leave water for rats!

•Discard tires, buckets or other items where water can collect.

•Clear clogged drains.

•Repair leaks in boilers, water tanks, washing machines, hoses and pipes.

Don’t leave a home for rats!

•To plug a rat hole inside your building, place wire mesh in the hole and then cover the hole with spackle or a sealant that hardens.

•Keep stairways, basements and storage areas clean and free of clutter.

•To plug a hole to the exterior, use sheet metal, wire mesh, chicken wire, sealant or a mix of cement and crushed glass.

•Keep grass and weeds less than 12 inches tall.

Remember that New York City law requires you to eliminate conditions that may lead to rat infestation. If your property is found to be “conducive to feeding and habitation of rats”, you could be in violation of the law and fined from $200 to $2,000 for each violation.

Violations of the health code include: rat burrows, droppings, gnaw marks and rub marks, tracks, trails, nests and hidden food stashes, and of course, live rats.

The law applies whether you own residential property, a store or a restaurant.

Call 311 to report any sightings of vermin.